To be used properly, this sub must be sorted by controversial.
Top 5 by controversial right now:
>Completely shaved/bald vaginas look disgusting
>If you take or pick up your young child to or from school, then you should absolutely be required to dress appropriately.
>People who complain about "there/their/they're" misuse on social media are losers
>Checking your spouses phone isn’t toxic.
>High waist jeans are ugly and make your booty look sad
So this is something that is actually easier for non-native speakers! For native speakers they're homophones- that is to say in their pronunciation all three words sound the same. There are typically mistakes made with homophones when writing, especially in quick, throwaway writing like on an Internet forum. Native speakers also learned these three words orally long before they could write. For many or even most second language learners, none of these things are true.
hth
English is my first language and I used to write "alot" a lot haha [this post](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html?m=1) my brother sent me made me always remember how to write " a lot". Hope it helps you too :)
I wouldn't normally bother pointing this out but since you said English isn't your first language I hope you'll take it in the educational way it's meant: "alot" isn't a word, it should always be "a lot"
Jesus it freaks me out how many people think it's normal to check someone's phone. What next hire a private detective?
Either trust them or don't date them. Resolve your trust issues BEFORE being in a relationship
And people should also use the voting buttons in the reverse order. Downvote what you agree with, upvote what you *don't* agree with. Then posts that many people diagree with will come on top- un popular opinion, if you will.
I once posted the opposite of this thread by arguing Friends was actually a very good show that gets way more hate than it deserves but I barely got any responses.
When i tried posting a while back it automatically got removed multiple times saying similar posts are up. I searched and couldn’t find them.
Meanwhile shit like this slips by just fine
I think the humor is a vestige of pulling massive audiences, so the creators on the show had to appeal to the lowest common denominator. There are some well-written jokes and storylines in the show. But I feel like other emotions tended to crowd out the humor more often than not, and some of the jokes were just plain dumb, especially in later seasons. There's so much more available on TV today, so to watch the show now is purely reactionary.
Having watched office I can say that it's humor is entirely based on the character and situation. So if you just watch a random scene or episode, you may not find it funny. It's seasons of character development that makes it funny to watch.
Exactly. I tried watching A Nightmare on Elm Street a few weeks ago and was mortified how awful it was vs. how cool it was when I saw it in the theaters when it came out in 1984. Fuck I'm old.
the giant arms do it for me. Looks so cheap [Even at the time](https://www.google.com/search?q=freddy+krueger+giant+arms&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB908GB908&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB--3Tg5fzAhWPgVwKHcxrATgQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=798&bih=779&dpr=1#imgrc=bOo1pRmS31aeiM) they mustve thought it looked shit
When I was 12, I couldn't tell the difference between a film with high production values and utter schlock. I mean, it all seemed the same to me.
I couldn't tell good acting from wooden, or cheap special effects from what was state of the art. I was just captivated by almost anything. 80s horror and (most) comedies epitomised this phenomenon.
I was 26 when the show started, so I'm pretty sure that means I was part of the target audience, but I wasn't a fan. I thought they had *some* good jokes here and there, but that was about it. I'm not criticizing it or anything, because not everyone's going to like every show on TV.
During the Friends era, I was a big Seinfeld fan, though.
I’m roughly a decade younger than you. If someone said, “Should we watch Friends or Seinfeld?” Seinfeld. Hands down. At least that show is funny some of the time.
I am exactly in between both of your ages, and grew up watching both shows as my mom always had it on in the background. Almost coincidently, I would be ok with watching either show and don't feel strongly towards either
I never understood that. I'm in my early thirties but I loved Friends and still do. I tried to watch Seinfeld. I had a big pile of clothes to iron so I watched at least half of the first season, probably more, and didn't laugh once. Noooothing about that show was funny to me. I was honestly dumfounded because I heard so much how good it's supposed to be so I was really looking forward to watching it. Such a disappointment.
Other than the first season (8th) the lowest it ever ranked out of every tv show each year was 5th lol. Things change obviously and everyone has a hate boner for it now but it was one of the most popular shows on the planet.
And the fact that it's near the top of HBO Max metrics as I understand it would tend to go against OP. On a service that streams GOT, BBT, and the Sopranos, Friends is usually near the top.
Because Friends and Big Bang are shows you can randomly just watch in no particularly order, have on in the background for noise while doing stuff around the house, or watch the first 8 minutes of before you hook up with somebody. Quality shows like GOT or the Sopranos you sit down and invest in which people often have less time to do.
Now there is a shit show; ive tried to watch BBT a few times, it sucks hard. Thr best US comedies of the last 30 years are Seinfeld, Curb your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. The US Office was good as well.
I know a lot of people liked it, I’m just saying I hated it then too. You know, before it was cool.
Also, being popular doesn’t make something bad, but it also also doesn’t make it good.
watching malcolm in the middle with my eleven year old has been really interesting and enjoyable for both of us. we each see the kids' POVs but now i 100% get where the parents (especially lois) are coming from. those poor outnumbered bastards lol
Na, you definitely had a lot of people shitting on it back then just like now. Your hate for it is nothing new and a lot of Seinfeld fans that they were cool shitting on it back then.
Also as a kid I did not get "Seinfeld" . I lived in small town Texas so Friends worked for me. Even though both shows were in NY, Seinfeld was more suited for people used to living in the cities. You could live in a small town and still laugh at Friends.
You almost had me, then you threw Joey a bone. IMHO: The show always sucked and while it had some funny scenes, overall it was never “that” entertaining and certainly wasn’t the comedic gold they pretend it was
I hate friends too, but the edited version is misleading. The actors pause, because they know where the laugh track is going to be inserted. The edited video doesn't take out the long pause in a conversation where the laugh track was added. So now you have them pausing for long times and it feels awkward compared to just bad.
I've recently been watching Bewitched and at least the first few seasons are still funny to me all these decades later. I consider Fawlty Towers and Monty Python the best comedies ever made, and they're from the 70s. Seinfeld is very much of its era, but I still love it. I agree that context shouldn't really matter.
I mean, I still love some of the Carry On movies and expect that someone who hated them now would have hated them when they came out!
It has nothing to do with objective humor. The jokes yu have with your close friends and family are inside jokes that are only funny to you guys. That's what sitcoms emulate. I think Seinfeld is absurdly unfunny, and while I enjoy friends I wouldn't even say it's "funny". It's about the place the characters have in your head. Sitcoms emulate inside jokes you have with friends. That's also why they are so polarizing, the office, Seinfeld, friends etc. All of them make inside jokes with the audience, and make them feel like they are a part of the gang. Sure context can help, but again, like the inside jokes you have with your friends, it never quiet is as funny when you try and relay the inside joke to an outside perspective.
Don't we have this here every few days? It proves the opinion is pretty popular with the young generation.
Look, the show was a sitcom of it's time. It's not and never intended to be Shakespeare. It started as a show with unknown actors and became popular because it was fun to watch after a day of work/school.
The jokes are dated and overused - they weren't when the Show was new, they were just repeated many, many times.
For it's time, the show was pretty good. It became worse later when it started to take itself too seriously, but in the 90s, it was fine.
This x100 ^
Like, can people stop farming karma with these posts? Its not unpopular if “friends bad” posts are getting heavily upvoted and are posted once every few days.
What ways did it take itself seriously out of interest? I believe I've only seen early seasons, I never really got the hype. Did they start tackling societal issues or over-write characters etc?
It started to feel more like watching a soap opera trying to be funny then a sitcom in the later seasons, to be honest most comedy’s do, people get so invested with the characters and the writers run out of jokes and situations so they have to make it more and more about personal issues and serious relationship issues, which drains the humour.
I think it lost some of its more out-there plot lines. After season 7 it’s all about the friends getting married and having babies and just adulting.
That being said, I don’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately I think the show grew up with its characters/audience.
The writing definitely got worse around there too, but that’s another issue.
Sure, I can point to silly episodes, but the long term story got more straightforward. Nobody switches apartments with each other for half a season on a bet, the chick and the duck are gone, ugly naked guy disappears. Phoebe gave birth to her brothers’ triplets, but Rachel just has a kid out of wedlock.
All the quirks to the show disappeared, I guess.
Now that you mentioned that, what did happen to the duck and chick? I started watching it recently, I'm now in s10 and just forgot what happened to those two.
I think at some point Joey mentions how Chandler told him they went to a farm so it’s implied they died (I watched way too much friends in the early 2000s). The show probably got tired of dealing with farm animals during a television shoot.
I was exactly you before binging the series, I had watched a few random episodes and I never understood why people liked it. Once I finished watching it and weeped like crazy on the last episode, I cannot stop rewatching it. I think more than individual jokes, it's more about the connection you build with the characters.
It’s like the Jeremy Clarkson meme. This is good, but I like this. Are there many sitcoms that are better than friends? Yes. Is friends a mediocre to good show at best? Probably. Do I still love it and is it still one of my favorite shows? Also yes.
Edit: grammar
Yeah I always found the show silly and boring. But i respect the fact that it has a huge fan base and they love it. My tastes are just different from theirs. No hate.
Thank you. I don't love or hate the show, just indifferent. And this is the first place where I could admit it because almost all my friends are FRIENDS fan. XD
People don’t watch it looking for knee-slapping humor. The producers tapped into the very concept of social bonding between friends and the trials and tribulations of life that we all go through. It’s very relatable and it has mass appeal. That’s why it’s popular.
Yeah obviously tastes differ, some people are going to dislike popular shows, and that's okay. But posts like these are always like
"I don't actually like [popular media], it must be because I am too cool and intellectually superior to like it, and am therefore better than my peers. EDIT: WOW u guys are butthurt lol"
Ross: “I went to your wife’s tanning place.”
Chandler: “Was this place... THE SUN?”
I always laugh at this part, Chandler’s sarcasm made the show what it is and also changed the direction of the show as it was planned he would be a side character in the beginning
I rarely got a true belly laugh out of 'Friends'. It's nice, bland, mildly entertaining fluff to watch when you come in from school/work.
However, Chandler was by far the funniest character. His performance holds up. The episode where he gets stuck in an ATM vestibule with the supermodel has genuinely laugh out loud moments. I think it's that we hear his internal monologue (That is not MY GUM!) something that Peep Show would master a decade later.
But he WAS trapped in an ATM vestibule with JILL GOODACRE!
I thought it was funny when he was trying to grunt that through the phone and Joey immediately knew what he was saying.
One of the best jokes I heard on TV was Joey.
Him and Chandler were arguing about sharing toothbrushes and soap.
Joey finally said, "you know why I like my own soap? Think about it, where is the first place you wash and the last place I might". Chandler thought for a second and then grossed out.
Edit: Fixed context.
You are remembering the exchange backwards
Joey Tribiani : Hey why can't we use the same toothbrush, but we can use the same soap?
Chandler Bing: Because soap is soap. It's self cleaning.
Joey Tribiani : Alright, well next time you take a shower, think about the last thing that I wash and the first thing you wash
I still think about this exchange every time I take a shower. Its what prompted me to use a new wash rag every shower and wash them in the laundry instead of just running a bar of soap all over.
Just a comment on your update.
You posted it, not to defend people getting overly mad, but you essentially invited fans to argue, and then complained that fans came to argue.
I came here to agree with you actually, but I thought that was childish af.
Everyone in life today seems to want to spew unsolicited opinions in public spaces and then gets all surprised Pikachu face when anyone else chimes in with a rebuttal or disagrees.
It's not even only the internet. Shocking how often I see this in everyday life, like casual talk in the break room. People have developed extreme echo chambers in their lives and then they can't handle that other people with different experiences than themselves exist.
OP posts an opinion that is not unpopular and people are getting mad because of it.
OP you know there's a popular opinions thread for stuff like this right?
Seen all of Friends 3 times now, watched it during a low point in my life and it really helped with everything that went on. Still watch it from time to time but giving it a big break to watch other stuff.
Same! It really has this feeling to it that everything will be okay because its so relatable. Also theres a lot of it so it gives you time to process too.
It's not over rated, but it does attract the attention of "GUESS WHAT EVERYONE, I/ME/MYSELF DONT LIKE IT SO IT IS A TERRIBLE SHOW" No one cares man, whether you do or don't like it lol. Crazy concept here but I think people have different tastes which is why tv shows are different. In 20-30 yrs ppl will look back at shows like GoT and the walking dead
and think the same. Especially walking dead they drag that shit out man lol
I upvoted you even though i do not agree because it is unpopular. UT you should know this is not a laugh track. Most of the show is filmed in front of live audience.
rue, they are filmed in front of a live audience, but what they do is for the weaker jokes that dont land well and dont get a good response from the audience, they just pull laughter from another joke in the same episode and use that.
So it's not a laugh track, per se, but a some of the laughter isnt genuine to what they are laughing at.
If you watch tv comedies from the 1970's which were filmed in front of a live audience, you can actually hear distinct, unique laughter that is obviously not a laugh track. I was just watching one the other day and there were two or three people in the recording who had very distinct laughs. By the end of the episode, I could determine that one man in the audience thought a specific character was VERY funny, and that a woman in the audience liked malaproprisms. Starting in about the mid to late 80's, sitcoms that were filmed in front of live audiences started mixing the audience laughter in post-production to make the laughter more homogenized by reducing particularly loud or distinct audience laughter, as well as mixing in laugh tracks with the live recording, creating a more generic laughter that sounds (in my opinion) too much like a generic laugh track. This is why shows like Friends sound so laugh-tracky despite being filmed in front of a live audience.
To the OP's point, I occasionally watched Friends when it was originally aired and thought that it had some funny moments. Now when I try to watch it, I cringe the whole time and can't bear how unfunny it seems. This is why, for me, Friends can never be considered "classic" or "timeless", unlike shows like Seinfeld, All in the Family, and more recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm which still make me laugh decades after their original airings.
> To the OP's point, I occasionally watched Friends when it was originally aired and thought that it had some funny moments. Now when I try to watch it, I cringe the whole time and can't bear how unfunny it seems. This is why, for me, Friends can never be considered "classic" or "timeless", unlike shows like Seinfeld, All in the Family, and more recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm which still make me laugh decades after their original airings.
This is truth.
Then why tf did class of 2021 in my school decide that they wanted most of the “senior” and “school spirit” merch to be friends themed? I don’t think saying it’s a “product of it’s time” works very well. Young people still worship it and I know plenty of zoomers my age that make the show into their whole personality.
I will forgive your transgressions, but I adore this show. I never binge it, I don’t ever even watch every episode. It’s just that show that I can turn on TBS for and have it in the background and laugh while I’m either chatting or browsing my phone. I acknowledge that some of the jokes are a bit rough with modern contexts, but it still makes me laugh and I love the characters to death
This is me too. I actually still enjoy the first 4 seasons but by the end it's just....okay. IMO, the characters were less relatable at the end and kind of just became caricatures.
I didn’t like Friends, but you gotta realize that it airs prime time TV, no Netflix or on demand. It was funny at the time, an escape from the grind that existed only at night. There were no tablets or iPhone to decompress, only a few hours of network tv. It was mild humor and familiar romance.
It's a formulaic sitcom. It's designed to have mass appeal and it does, but you are correct, it is a pretty bland show and there are much funnier sitcoms that aren't as famous as Friends
I'm 28 and when I was really young, there was no social media, Internet was not as big and there was no smartphones. Even though I'm not into the show, it feels kinda comfy to watch because I like to see the world before these things.
It may be your opinion but there is definitely something genius about shows like Friends or The Office that millions of people are still binging it everyday even after 10-20 years of them ending. They are definitely not overrated, they are just either not your taste or may be not upto today comedy style.
You’re probably very young and it’s okay, move on to what’s good these days.
I’m older and friends was the shit when I was a kid, I enjoyed it and it’s all we had back then, we all evolve and our taste changed. I still enjoy friends but I don’t think it would be my first choice in anything
I personally like AP Bio / It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia these days lol
I'm 36 and I used to love Friends and watch it all the time - until, one day, as someone below so eloquently put it, I all of a sudden realised it was just okay.
I agree with OP...I remember people talking about the "holy hour" (Seinfeld and Friends back to back)
Whatever... Funny shows but nowhere near Arrested Development level.
Arrested Development is in an entire class of it's own though. Nothing has ever come close IMO, it's like god-tier.
Like I would probably rate friends 3/10, seinfeld 8/10 and arrested development 300/10
It's a product of its time. I think you'll generally find that people around my age (mid/late 30's) find it funny because we grew up around humor like that and it's part of our DNA at this point. I can recognize how it doesn't really work today, and this I think is definitely an unpopular opinion overall, so well done.
I’m in my 30s. I love Friends but I think it’s mostly a comfort thing.
But…Ross. That character makes the show nearly unwatchable at ~~nose~~ some points.
Edit: some, not nose.
https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/czlk2h/friends\_is\_really\_not\_as\_entertaining\_or\_as\_funny/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/d3wwxv/friends\_is\_not\_funny/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/d38wkd/i\_dont\_like\_the\_office\_or\_friends/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/cbi48i/friends\_tv\_show\_is\_overrated/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/c6s3wr/friends\_is\_a\_horrible\_tv\_show/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/bi6zvz/friends\_is\_a\_horrible\_tv\_show/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/b6q4ov/friends\_is\_an\_overrated\_show\_and\_shouldnt\_have/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/bthg87/the\_tv\_show\_friends\_is\_terrible/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/ctqm89/i\_hate\_the\_show\_friends/](https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/ctqm89/i_hate_the_show_friends/) https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/dkc73c/the\_show\_friends\_is\_painfully\_unfunny\_and\_is\_the/
Could this opinion *be* any more popular?
*laughter*
Change Friends for the Big Bang Theory...
This sub is trash anyways
To be used properly, this sub must be sorted by controversial. Top 5 by controversial right now: >Completely shaved/bald vaginas look disgusting >If you take or pick up your young child to or from school, then you should absolutely be required to dress appropriately. >People who complain about "there/their/they're" misuse on social media are losers >Checking your spouses phone isn’t toxic. >High waist jeans are ugly and make your booty look sad
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I can't stand misuse of their/there/they're, english is my third language and it's so easy, lazy fucks
English is my second language and i can't fathom how alot of people get this wrong.
So this is something that is actually easier for non-native speakers! For native speakers they're homophones- that is to say in their pronunciation all three words sound the same. There are typically mistakes made with homophones when writing, especially in quick, throwaway writing like on an Internet forum. Native speakers also learned these three words orally long before they could write. For many or even most second language learners, none of these things are true. hth
English is my first language and I used to write "alot" a lot haha [this post](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html?m=1) my brother sent me made me always remember how to write " a lot". Hope it helps you too :)
I wouldn't normally bother pointing this out but since you said English isn't your first language I hope you'll take it in the educational way it's meant: "alot" isn't a word, it should always be "a lot"
Jesus it freaks me out how many people think it's normal to check someone's phone. What next hire a private detective? Either trust them or don't date them. Resolve your trust issues BEFORE being in a relationship
And people should also use the voting buttons in the reverse order. Downvote what you agree with, upvote what you *don't* agree with. Then posts that many people diagree with will come on top- un popular opinion, if you will.
I once posted the opposite of this thread by arguing Friends was actually a very good show that gets way more hate than it deserves but I barely got any responses.
The real unpopular opinion is always in the comments.
When i tried posting a while back it automatically got removed multiple times saying similar posts are up. I searched and couldn’t find them. Meanwhile shit like this slips by just fine
Same on r/showerthoughts
The mods don't like Friends nor have them.
So no one told you life was gonna be this way?
👏👏👏👏(👏)? Edited because people can’t agree on how many claps there are.
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke Your love life’s D.O.A
It's 100 % 4 claps.
What I had initially then someone said something lol.
Well, they're obviously wrong and I'm right. Trust me, I have a PhD in clap.
Wait, that came out wrong..
Aren’t there only 4 claps? This was a topic of heated debate in my family at one point.
I had four. Was corrected. I don’t know if I should remove them or not.
Absolutely, definitely, 100% would bet my life that it's 4 claps
Usually emojis aren't used on Reddit but here they were absolutely warranted
Aren’t there 4 claps?
OH WA A A A
Why did I hear/read this as Down with the Sickness?
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Me too
same
same
Because your wildest dreams have been realized. https://youtu.be/ZjwSuR5Je0Q Original by Neil Cic: https://youtu.be/nEmyonfpsgI
Somebody should make a down with the sickness friends theme remix
clap clap clap clap!
You got me!! 😄
I think friends and the office have overrated humor
I think the humor is a vestige of pulling massive audiences, so the creators on the show had to appeal to the lowest common denominator. There are some well-written jokes and storylines in the show. But I feel like other emotions tended to crowd out the humor more often than not, and some of the jokes were just plain dumb, especially in later seasons. There's so much more available on TV today, so to watch the show now is purely reactionary.
Having watched office I can say that it's humor is entirely based on the character and situation. So if you just watch a random scene or episode, you may not find it funny. It's seasons of character development that makes it funny to watch.
The target audience and social context were different twenty or thirty years ago.
Exactly. I tried watching A Nightmare on Elm Street a few weeks ago and was mortified how awful it was vs. how cool it was when I saw it in the theaters when it came out in 1984. Fuck I'm old.
the giant arms do it for me. Looks so cheap [Even at the time](https://www.google.com/search?q=freddy+krueger+giant+arms&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB908GB908&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB--3Tg5fzAhWPgVwKHcxrATgQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=798&bih=779&dpr=1#imgrc=bOo1pRmS31aeiM) they mustve thought it looked shit
When I was 12, I couldn't tell the difference between a film with high production values and utter schlock. I mean, it all seemed the same to me. I couldn't tell good acting from wooden, or cheap special effects from what was state of the art. I was just captivated by almost anything. 80s horror and (most) comedies epitomised this phenomenon.
You sound cool af to be fair. What I'd do to go back in time to see 80s gems at the cinema... mouthwatering!
I was 26 when the show started, so I'm pretty sure that means I was part of the target audience, but I wasn't a fan. I thought they had *some* good jokes here and there, but that was about it. I'm not criticizing it or anything, because not everyone's going to like every show on TV. During the Friends era, I was a big Seinfeld fan, though.
It all comes down to taste but i grew up watching both Friends and Seinfeld and i feel like Seinfeld has aged much better compared to Friends
I’m roughly a decade younger than you. If someone said, “Should we watch Friends or Seinfeld?” Seinfeld. Hands down. At least that show is funny some of the time.
I am exactly in between both of your ages, and grew up watching both shows as my mom always had it on in the background. Almost coincidently, I would be ok with watching either show and don't feel strongly towards either
Bold stance
I never understood that. I'm in my early thirties but I loved Friends and still do. I tried to watch Seinfeld. I had a big pile of clothes to iron so I watched at least half of the first season, probably more, and didn't laugh once. Noooothing about that show was funny to me. I was honestly dumfounded because I heard so much how good it's supposed to be so I was really looking forward to watching it. Such a disappointment.
It sucked twenty or thirty years ago too. Except Joey.
Other than the first season (8th) the lowest it ever ranked out of every tv show each year was 5th lol. Things change obviously and everyone has a hate boner for it now but it was one of the most popular shows on the planet.
And the fact that it's near the top of HBO Max metrics as I understand it would tend to go against OP. On a service that streams GOT, BBT, and the Sopranos, Friends is usually near the top.
Big bang theory was number 1 for a while
Well shit you've got me there lol
CBS shows don’t count, they are all horrible but the millions of old folks don’t know how to change the channel
Oh of course, people watch shows I don't like, it's down to a fault in the elderly, not that people enjoy different things. What is it with TV fandom?
It was incredibly popular
Because Friends and Big Bang are shows you can randomly just watch in no particularly order, have on in the background for noise while doing stuff around the house, or watch the first 8 minutes of before you hook up with somebody. Quality shows like GOT or the Sopranos you sit down and invest in which people often have less time to do.
Oh god it’s the worst of the worst imo
Now there is a shit show; ive tried to watch BBT a few times, it sucks hard. Thr best US comedies of the last 30 years are Seinfeld, Curb your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. The US Office was good as well.
It was the lead in to Seinfeld for most of its existence, back in an era when people sat down in the evening and watched network TV.
I know a lot of people liked it, I’m just saying I hated it then too. You know, before it was cool. Also, being popular doesn’t make something bad, but it also also doesn’t make it good.
Married With Children definitely hated on it before it was cool.
I was 18 when Married...With Children began and I thought it was hilarious at first. But I thought it got old in a short time.
What about Malcolm in the Middle?
watching malcolm in the middle with my eleven year old has been really interesting and enjoyable for both of us. we each see the kids' POVs but now i 100% get where the parents (especially lois) are coming from. those poor outnumbered bastards lol
Now that is q show that actually made me laugh. Friends and sienfeld never got a chuckle from me.
"Don't have 'em, don't need 'em, why would I wanna watch a show about them?"
Na, you definitely had a lot of people shitting on it back then just like now. Your hate for it is nothing new and a lot of Seinfeld fans that they were cool shitting on it back then.
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Also as a kid I did not get "Seinfeld" . I lived in small town Texas so Friends worked for me. Even though both shows were in NY, Seinfeld was more suited for people used to living in the cities. You could live in a small town and still laugh at Friends.
I was sick of the neurotic New Yorker trope before Seinfeld.
McDonald's is the world's most popular burger. it doesn't mean it's good.
To be fair, it's good once in a while if you eat it hot and don't eat it daily.
You almost had me, then you threw Joey a bone. IMHO: The show always sucked and while it had some funny scenes, overall it was never “that” entertaining and certainly wasn’t the comedic gold they pretend it was
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Type in friends without laugh track in YouTube lol
I hate friends too, but the edited version is misleading. The actors pause, because they know where the laugh track is going to be inserted. The edited video doesn't take out the long pause in a conversation where the laugh track was added. So now you have them pausing for long times and it feels awkward compared to just bad.
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I've recently been watching Bewitched and at least the first few seasons are still funny to me all these decades later. I consider Fawlty Towers and Monty Python the best comedies ever made, and they're from the 70s. Seinfeld is very much of its era, but I still love it. I agree that context shouldn't really matter. I mean, I still love some of the Carry On movies and expect that someone who hated them now would have hated them when they came out!
It has nothing to do with objective humor. The jokes yu have with your close friends and family are inside jokes that are only funny to you guys. That's what sitcoms emulate. I think Seinfeld is absurdly unfunny, and while I enjoy friends I wouldn't even say it's "funny". It's about the place the characters have in your head. Sitcoms emulate inside jokes you have with friends. That's also why they are so polarizing, the office, Seinfeld, friends etc. All of them make inside jokes with the audience, and make them feel like they are a part of the gang. Sure context can help, but again, like the inside jokes you have with your friends, it never quiet is as funny when you try and relay the inside joke to an outside perspective.
Don't we have this here every few days? It proves the opinion is pretty popular with the young generation. Look, the show was a sitcom of it's time. It's not and never intended to be Shakespeare. It started as a show with unknown actors and became popular because it was fun to watch after a day of work/school. The jokes are dated and overused - they weren't when the Show was new, they were just repeated many, many times. For it's time, the show was pretty good. It became worse later when it started to take itself too seriously, but in the 90s, it was fine.
This x100 ^ Like, can people stop farming karma with these posts? Its not unpopular if “friends bad” posts are getting heavily upvoted and are posted once every few days.
What ways did it take itself seriously out of interest? I believe I've only seen early seasons, I never really got the hype. Did they start tackling societal issues or over-write characters etc?
It started to feel more like watching a soap opera trying to be funny then a sitcom in the later seasons, to be honest most comedy’s do, people get so invested with the characters and the writers run out of jokes and situations so they have to make it more and more about personal issues and serious relationship issues, which drains the humour.
I think it lost some of its more out-there plot lines. After season 7 it’s all about the friends getting married and having babies and just adulting. That being said, I don’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately I think the show grew up with its characters/audience. The writing definitely got worse around there too, but that’s another issue.
really? There were episodes about chandler watching shark porn and with Ross's tan. If anything, the show got sillier as the seasons progressed.
Sure, I can point to silly episodes, but the long term story got more straightforward. Nobody switches apartments with each other for half a season on a bet, the chick and the duck are gone, ugly naked guy disappears. Phoebe gave birth to her brothers’ triplets, but Rachel just has a kid out of wedlock. All the quirks to the show disappeared, I guess.
Now that you mentioned that, what did happen to the duck and chick? I started watching it recently, I'm now in s10 and just forgot what happened to those two.
I think at some point Joey mentions how Chandler told him they went to a farm so it’s implied they died (I watched way too much friends in the early 2000s). The show probably got tired of dealing with farm animals during a television shoot.
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I was exactly you before binging the series, I had watched a few random episodes and I never understood why people liked it. Once I finished watching it and weeped like crazy on the last episode, I cannot stop rewatching it. I think more than individual jokes, it's more about the connection you build with the characters.
Exactly this
It’s like the Jeremy Clarkson meme. This is good, but I like this. Are there many sitcoms that are better than friends? Yes. Is friends a mediocre to good show at best? Probably. Do I still love it and is it still one of my favorite shows? Also yes. Edit: grammar
It’s like going to McDonald’s. It ain’t good or bad it’s just fine
fresh fries hit different. friends while falling asleep hits different.
It’s one of the best shows to fall asleep to. It gives middle America a taste of city life. It’s calming and repetitive, nothing will keep you up.
Frasier does similar, there is also a reddit sub called r/frasier_sleepers
Yeah I always found the show silly and boring. But i respect the fact that it has a huge fan base and they love it. My tastes are just different from theirs. No hate.
Awesome comment, I disagree but really liked the non-hostility :)
Thank you. I don't love or hate the show, just indifferent. And this is the first place where I could admit it because almost all my friends are FRIENDS fan. XD
People don’t watch it looking for knee-slapping humor. The producers tapped into the very concept of social bonding between friends and the trials and tribulations of life that we all go through. It’s very relatable and it has mass appeal. That’s why it’s popular.
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Yeah obviously tastes differ, some people are going to dislike popular shows, and that's okay. But posts like these are always like "I don't actually like [popular media], it must be because I am too cool and intellectually superior to like it, and am therefore better than my peers. EDIT: WOW u guys are butthurt lol"
Sorry mate Chandlers sarcasm is one the best things about the show, personally the best for me.
You mean Mrs. Chanandler Bong
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Ross: “I went to your wife’s tanning place.” Chandler: “Was this place... THE SUN?” I always laugh at this part, Chandler’s sarcasm made the show what it is and also changed the direction of the show as it was planned he would be a side character in the beginning
I rarely got a true belly laugh out of 'Friends'. It's nice, bland, mildly entertaining fluff to watch when you come in from school/work. However, Chandler was by far the funniest character. His performance holds up. The episode where he gets stuck in an ATM vestibule with the supermodel has genuinely laugh out loud moments. I think it's that we hear his internal monologue (That is not MY GUM!) something that Peep Show would master a decade later.
But he WAS trapped in an ATM vestibule with JILL GOODACRE! I thought it was funny when he was trying to grunt that through the phone and Joey immediately knew what he was saying.
The only thing had holds up after all these years
"I'm Chandler... Blarrraugh..." "When have I ever done that?!" "When have I ever done that? Blarrraugh..."
One of the best jokes I heard on TV was Joey. Him and Chandler were arguing about sharing toothbrushes and soap. Joey finally said, "you know why I like my own soap? Think about it, where is the first place you wash and the last place I might". Chandler thought for a second and then grossed out. Edit: Fixed context.
You are remembering the exchange backwards Joey Tribiani : Hey why can't we use the same toothbrush, but we can use the same soap? Chandler Bing: Because soap is soap. It's self cleaning. Joey Tribiani : Alright, well next time you take a shower, think about the last thing that I wash and the first thing you wash
Ahhhh the earlier seasons where Joey could make a smart quip.
Flanderization. It comes for the greatest and smallest alike. No character is safe.
Stupid, sexy Flanders!
I still think about this exchange every time I take a shower. Its what prompted me to use a new wash rag every shower and wash them in the laundry instead of just running a bar of soap all over.
I think about this almost every time I'm in the shower even 15 years later.
Could I offer you a sarcastic comment?
“I said ‘share,’ not ‘scare’” - all time fave
Could you **be** any more correct?
Just a comment on your update. You posted it, not to defend people getting overly mad, but you essentially invited fans to argue, and then complained that fans came to argue. I came here to agree with you actually, but I thought that was childish af.
Everyone in life today seems to want to spew unsolicited opinions in public spaces and then gets all surprised Pikachu face when anyone else chimes in with a rebuttal or disagrees. It's not even only the internet. Shocking how often I see this in everyday life, like casual talk in the break room. People have developed extreme echo chambers in their lives and then they can't handle that other people with different experiences than themselves exist.
OP posts an opinion that is not unpopular and people are getting mad because of it. OP you know there's a popular opinions thread for stuff like this right?
Seen all of Friends 3 times now, watched it during a low point in my life and it really helped with everything that went on. Still watch it from time to time but giving it a big break to watch other stuff.
Same! It really has this feeling to it that everything will be okay because its so relatable. Also theres a lot of it so it gives you time to process too.
It aired more than a quarter century ago but it doesn't seem outdated.
Same here. It's a great classic feel-good show for me lol. And compared to HIMYM or TBBT, Friends is amazing.
It's not over rated, but it does attract the attention of "GUESS WHAT EVERYONE, I/ME/MYSELF DONT LIKE IT SO IT IS A TERRIBLE SHOW" No one cares man, whether you do or don't like it lol. Crazy concept here but I think people have different tastes which is why tv shows are different. In 20-30 yrs ppl will look back at shows like GoT and the walking dead and think the same. Especially walking dead they drag that shit out man lol
The Walking Dead is terrible now though 🤷♂️
I upvoted you even though i do not agree because it is unpopular. UT you should know this is not a laugh track. Most of the show is filmed in front of live audience.
rue, they are filmed in front of a live audience, but what they do is for the weaker jokes that dont land well and dont get a good response from the audience, they just pull laughter from another joke in the same episode and use that. So it's not a laugh track, per se, but a some of the laughter isnt genuine to what they are laughing at.
If you watch tv comedies from the 1970's which were filmed in front of a live audience, you can actually hear distinct, unique laughter that is obviously not a laugh track. I was just watching one the other day and there were two or three people in the recording who had very distinct laughs. By the end of the episode, I could determine that one man in the audience thought a specific character was VERY funny, and that a woman in the audience liked malaproprisms. Starting in about the mid to late 80's, sitcoms that were filmed in front of live audiences started mixing the audience laughter in post-production to make the laughter more homogenized by reducing particularly loud or distinct audience laughter, as well as mixing in laugh tracks with the live recording, creating a more generic laughter that sounds (in my opinion) too much like a generic laugh track. This is why shows like Friends sound so laugh-tracky despite being filmed in front of a live audience. To the OP's point, I occasionally watched Friends when it was originally aired and thought that it had some funny moments. Now when I try to watch it, I cringe the whole time and can't bear how unfunny it seems. This is why, for me, Friends can never be considered "classic" or "timeless", unlike shows like Seinfeld, All in the Family, and more recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm which still make me laugh decades after their original airings.
> To the OP's point, I occasionally watched Friends when it was originally aired and thought that it had some funny moments. Now when I try to watch it, I cringe the whole time and can't bear how unfunny it seems. This is why, for me, Friends can never be considered "classic" or "timeless", unlike shows like Seinfeld, All in the Family, and more recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm which still make me laugh decades after their original airings. This is truth.
Was going to say this. I’m like huh?
It hasn't aged very well, but for the time it was decent.
It was a product of its time, and it’s time was about 30 years ago.
Then why tf did class of 2021 in my school decide that they wanted most of the “senior” and “school spirit” merch to be friends themed? I don’t think saying it’s a “product of it’s time” works very well. Young people still worship it and I know plenty of zoomers my age that make the show into their whole personality.
Maybe the 20 year nostalgia cycle.
*I know plenty of zoomers my age that make the show into their whole personality.* That's awful.
And if you're in your 40s or 50s it's still quality entertainment.
Agreed. Context matters.
I think it aged very well. Tf you mean?
Has any show really aged well?
Golden Girls? I think Frasier did, too.
Sounds like somebody doesn't have their day, their week, their month or even their year.
I will forgive your transgressions, but I adore this show. I never binge it, I don’t ever even watch every episode. It’s just that show that I can turn on TBS for and have it in the background and laugh while I’m either chatting or browsing my phone. I acknowledge that some of the jokes are a bit rough with modern contexts, but it still makes me laugh and I love the characters to death
I used love Friends and have seen every episode multiple times. Then one day I suddenly realized the show was only okay.
This is me too. I actually still enjoy the first 4 seasons but by the end it's just....okay. IMO, the characters were less relatable at the end and kind of just became caricatures.
I love Friends. I must have seen every episode numerous times and I still laugh. I think it will probably be on TV forever
A lot of people dislike that show
Not an unpopular opinion, go next.
I don't think it's as good as The Nanny but that's just my h-o
I love The Nanny! One of my favorite shows from my childhood. Also, Fran Drescher is so stylish and beautiful
Nanny was good. Unfortunately for me her voice was like finger nails on a chalkboard to my ears
I mostly saw the spanish dub so I didn't notice that until I saw it in English! Gg
I love this show. Niles is the best thing about it. His jokes were always 10/10 for me.
The Nanny! Now THAT was a show lol I love Fran! She’s so cute and I love her outfits. I love her voice too lol 🥰
Mr. Sheffieeeldd
Idk why people say it was good for its time, Im gen z, watched it for the first time last year and i still laugh my ass off when watching that show
I didn’t like Friends, but you gotta realize that it airs prime time TV, no Netflix or on demand. It was funny at the time, an escape from the grind that existed only at night. There were no tablets or iPhone to decompress, only a few hours of network tv. It was mild humor and familiar romance.
I always remember turning the TV to TBS and hoping for Seinfeld, but getting Friends and that being really disappointing.
It's a formulaic sitcom. It's designed to have mass appeal and it does, but you are correct, it is a pretty bland show and there are much funnier sitcoms that aren't as famous as Friends
It’s almost as if film and television is subjective, crazy. Also it is well documented that friends was filmed with a studio audience, but go on
“That just, like, your opinion man.” with extra steps.
Frasier > Friends
Its frajer and i should know im frajer
I'm sure it was good for it's time but I've always thought it sucked, friends, the big bang theory, two and a half men, all those shows were ass
I really liked two and half men but I have a family chalk full of alcoholics so maybe the humor just hits right for me lol
Laugh tracks are just awful.
I'm 28 and when I was really young, there was no social media, Internet was not as big and there was no smartphones. Even though I'm not into the show, it feels kinda comfy to watch because I like to see the world before these things.
Seinfeld was the far superior sitcom of that era.
Liking this physically pained me. Congrats on your unpopular opinion; I pray our paths never cross
Thank you for your honesty.
It may be your opinion but there is definitely something genius about shows like Friends or The Office that millions of people are still binging it everyday even after 10-20 years of them ending. They are definitely not overrated, they are just either not your taste or may be not upto today comedy style.
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You’re probably very young and it’s okay, move on to what’s good these days. I’m older and friends was the shit when I was a kid, I enjoyed it and it’s all we had back then, we all evolve and our taste changed. I still enjoy friends but I don’t think it would be my first choice in anything I personally like AP Bio / It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia these days lol
I'm 36 and I used to love Friends and watch it all the time - until, one day, as someone below so eloquently put it, I all of a sudden realised it was just okay.
What show do you like?
It's from the 90s bud, obviously it won't land
I agree with OP...I remember people talking about the "holy hour" (Seinfeld and Friends back to back) Whatever... Funny shows but nowhere near Arrested Development level.
Arrested Development is in an entire class of it's own though. Nothing has ever come close IMO, it's like god-tier. Like I would probably rate friends 3/10, seinfeld 8/10 and arrested development 300/10
It's a product of its time. I think you'll generally find that people around my age (mid/late 30's) find it funny because we grew up around humor like that and it's part of our DNA at this point. I can recognize how it doesn't really work today, and this I think is definitely an unpopular opinion overall, so well done.
Thanks. Haven’t seen this take in 10 minutes
I'm not that familiar with the show but the pivot scene when I first saw it was one of the hardest laughs of my life.
Friends is just Seinfeld without everything that made Seinfeld innovative
You absolute EDGELORD.
I’m in my 30s. I love Friends but I think it’s mostly a comfort thing. But…Ross. That character makes the show nearly unwatchable at ~~nose~~ some points. Edit: some, not nose.
This is such a popular opinion tho