Friends was one of my all-time favorite shows. I loved it so much, it’s now my main go-to show I’ll watch in reruns– I’ve seen every episode countless times.
But there was a time I hated it. Yep, I was one of the few people who just didn’t see the glittering gem hiding in the hunk of crap that was the show’s first season. And oh, God, it was such a bad, bad season too. Just terrible. The clothes! The hairdos! The Rachel hairdo!
I hated the show so much, I refused to watch more than a few episodes and declared the show would soon tank in the ratings, never to be heard from again. I also thought the internet would never catch on.
Why I Hated Friends (in the Beginning):
1) The annoying theme song.
When I first heard it back in 1994, I think it wormed its way into my brain, shacked up in the frontal lobe, and set up camp–managing to destroy my love for all music forever.
” I’ll be there for youuuu….when my soul starts to scream. I’ll be there for youuuu….when my mind starts to bleed. I’ll be there for youuuu…stick this fork in my eye. I’ll be there for youuu…no I’m serious, do it now….”
2) Ross’s haircut. (see image below)
It was too shiny and looked hard, like a helmet. How much Dippity-Do did he use for God’s sake?
3) Ross’s monkey.
In the first season, I could not get past the fact that he had a monkey perched on his shoulder in every scene. I wish I could’ve been at the writers’ staff meeting when they came up with that genius idea. “Hey! Shouldn’t Ross have some kind of pet? I mean, we’ve got to distract people from his hair. Uh…like a cat! Yeah! No…a parrot? Hmm…no, you’re right…not bizarre enough…. Ooh! I’ve got it! A pet monkey named Marsel! And then hilarity will ensue!”
Thankfully he vanished sometime between season 1 and 2, probably after meeting an untimely death involving a runaway taxi cab or an accidental cappuccino overdose at Central Perk.
1) Clean Up Feces in Couch Cushions
2)Bring Marcel to the ‘Circus’, then drop him off in an empty field and slowly walk away
4) Phoebe’s Smelly Cat Song
Sure, the song is cute and annoying and pure Phoebe (whom I love dearly). It was funny the first time I heard it. But then they kept making her sing it. They even dragged in poor Chrissie Hynde to duet with her in one episode. Enough already. “it’s not your fauuuuult…” It IS your damn fault so please shut up with the bad singing and the guitar before I smash Marsal over the head with it. (I didn’t realize I had such rage about this until now, whew! Felt good to get that out and I’m sorry.)
5) The Rachel.
I hated this haircut then, I hate it now. Back then, it was everywhere. Everyone wanted to look like her. The more my friends gushed on and on about The Rachel and had their own hair cut like hers, the more I wanted to rip my own hair out of my head and just go bald and call it The Darla to spite them all. This haircut was probably the main reason I hated Friends in the early episodes.
6) Courtney Cox-Arquette-Now-Back-to-Cox-Again
In the early days, she still had the fresh-off-the-Bruce-Springsteen-stage look. Every time she entered a scene, I waited for her to suddenly break out into her lame hand-clapping, finger-snapping, foot-swishin’ moves to “Dancing in the Dark”. Sadly, she never did.
7) Monica’s boyfriend Richard
What was it about seeing Tom Selleck cozy up to Courtney Cox that made my skin crawl in that “he’s-old-enough-to-be-your-dad” way? Then he shaved off his moustache in a future episode. I don’ t know about you, but Magnum PI is no man with no ‘stache. His face looked like a newborn baby’s butt. All exposed and vulnerable. And dimply, way too dimply. It was just wrong, so very wrong.
8) The Gleeful Fountain Scene
Ah, yes. We get it. You guys are having fun. Whee! Let’s splash around! Yay! Oh, and now you’re all doing the Ahnold Schwarzenegger muscle flex move! Nice! And then you sit on a couch and turn off a lamp. How cute. Blech.
10) The Will They or Won’t They? Crap
Does Ross know Rachel likes him? Does Rachel know that Ross knows she knows?
Should we kiss now? No? How ’bout now? Uh…tell you what, I’ll meet you halfway and then whatever happens, happens? Okay…on the count of three…one…two…oh. Oops! Nope, you got my nose there. Let’s try again. OK, this time our lips WILL connect. Are you ready? Get ready, okay? Let’s do this! One…two…
It was like watching two old ladies fight over the last loaf of rye bread at the Buy N Bag. Painful and slow and very unattractive. I didn’t feel any of the potent sexual tension the 9999 times they almost kissed. When they finally did, it was the OoOOOOHHH! heard round the world while I was probably on the couch snoring.
Did you love Friends the first time you saw it? Did you like Seinfeld too? Because that’s another show I hated during the first season (and grew to love). Is there a popular TV show out there now that you just hate?
She's A Maineiac 
I saw the first episode of Friends around ’99 because that’s when they decided to air it in India. It took me some time to get used to the American accent and the lingo. But halfway through season 1, I was hooked. By 2004, the show was popular enough in India to run almost parallel to the telecast in the U.S., and I enjoyed the series finale, because I thought it had gone on one season too long. It’s still one of my favorite sitcoms.
I love Seinfeld and still watch it whenever I can. I hated the first two seasons. It did take some time to get better. And I love Frasier. Seinfeld and Frasier were the comedies that made me think a little.
Nice post. And you’re right. I have no idea what they were thinking giving Ross that monkey!
I thought the Friends finale was pretty good as far as sitcom finales go (Roseanne’s was the worst)
And Frasier! Oh, god! I LOVE that show! Even more than Friends. Speaking of which, Cheers was a show I didn’t like much in the beginning either but grew to love it. And that had one of the best finales, in my opinion. Sam saying “sorry, we’re closed” at the end made me tear up.
I was never a fan of Seinfeld. I liked some of the episodes – very much – but the show in general was not up my alley.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Friends, either. Again, I liked some episodes (and I admit I liked the song), but the show bored me after awhile.
I can’t say I hate any current shows, but I can say I do not watch many current shows, like Glee.
I can see why some people didn’t like Seinfeld. When it first came on, my dad was still alive and he LOVED it from the start while I hated it. I remember he told me he thought the show would be a monster hit and I couldn’t see it.
Now I can really watch Seinfeld in reruns because I’ve seen every episode too many times.
I forgot about the monkey. Maybe Ross’s hair looked like that from all the monkey feces?
In that photo all I can picture are the little monkey poops falling down Ross’s back while he’s filming.
Hey me tooooo, I’ve watched like every episode 2,385 times. But I agree, the 1st season was weak. And Seinfield bugged the crap out of me, I don’t know why. Now that I’ve given it a chance, not bad at all. 😉
Seinfield is a love it or hate it show. My husband HATES it. Never watches it. I’ve tried to get him to, but he wants nothing to do with it at all. I loved Seinfeld and Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up comedy, too.
You’re hilarious!
I actually hated Friends all the way through, from start to finish. I just found it way to self-consciously adorable.
And I liked Jerry Seinfeld as a stand up comic, and I laughed at some of the episodes in the early days. (loved the “shrinkage” episode; remember?) but then it got too cute, too.
As for me, I hate almost all TV shows, how sad is that? “24” sent me into an anxiety attack; “Lost” made me feel like an idiot when I had no idea what was going on; “CSI” makes my skin crawl and I have never made it through an episode of “2 1/2 men” or “How I met your mother”.
I was marathons of “Dog Whisperer” and “Houston Animal Cops”. Pitiful!
Oh, yeah, I remember the ‘shrinkage’ episode. Classic!
I can’t blame you for not liking many TV shows. Nowadays, there really isn’t much that appeals to me either. I hate 2 Broke Girls (another show with a pet animal: a horse! ugh) and I hate Two and a Half Men (Charlie Sheen and post-Sheen). Pretty much try to avoid all shows with a number 2 in the title.
Lost I loved so much I still get upset that it’s all over.
Nice post. I didn’t watch Friends at the time my friends were going gaga over it. In fact, I just finished watching the first season, so I haven’t much to say about it. However, as far as pets perched on shoulders go, I think Niles Crane beats Ross hands down with his bird, ‘baby’. Frasier is one show I absolutely love.
I’d have to say that the only show I hate amongst the popular shows is ‘Big Bang Theory’. Any mention of Sheldon and I stop talking.
Frasier was absolutely wonderful. Great writing, characters. One of my top favorites too.
Big Bang Theory, I like. Don’t ask me why, but I love it. (my husband hates it) It’s not laugh out loud funny like Frasier, but still I find it comforting to watch (or have on the background while I’m sleeping). Mainly I watch it because I have a HUGE crush on Johnny Galecki who plays Leonard (he was David on Roseanne and I loved him then too)
Love Big Bang – I was on that before everyone else went crazy over it. Galecki is funny as is Sheldon.
I only watched Friends a few times but never really took to it. I liked Frasier and Cheers and even ended up watching Seinfeld and Everybody Likes Raymond. But, usually I wouldn’t watch series TV until it was in syndication and playing every night.
I actually got hooked on The Sopranos but only after A&E started airing it.
I’m not watching anything new right now.
We leave early Friday for Maine. Should be there Sat afternoon!!! See ya, maybe?
Oh, yeah, Everybody Loves Raymond is another show I just hated in the beginning. Actually, I refused to watch it until it ended. Now I watch it in reruns and LOVE it!
Sopranos? Never saw a single episode. I know!
Ooh, Where are you headed this weekend? Going up route one? let me know, send me an email.
I’ve never watched Friends, mostly because I couldn’t get past the cheesy theme/opening credits. I absolutely hated the Rachel haircut, too. But as much as I I love Seinfeld and watch the reruns all the time now, I didn’t like it in the beginning. My dad got me hooked. Right now, I watch True Blood and Royal Pains, both of which have only a few episodes left in the season *sniff*.
I can’t even watch the old Seinfeld episodes now. Especially the first season. Kramer was just some weirdo neighbor and Elaine’s hair was MUCH too high.
My sister was into Friends, it was always on Friday nights when I was out drinking. Of course I’ve seen it all now, scheduling forces you too, it’s currently on all day and all night on Comedy Central UK, on loop forever. They only bought it last year after channel 4 had it from the beginning and were playing it on loop all day and all night since it ended 10 years ago. I don’t think it will ever leave our screens.
Luckily they are also allowing one hour of Seinfeld a week so I am reliving that. Everyone who only heard of Larry David after Curb that I showed Seinfeld too hates it. They don;t get the point though, they have to think about the years that it was broadcast and this was long before HBO would screen shows using the word F***. The same ideas exist between Seinfeld and Curb, it;s just they have a lot more freedom to go the extra mile with it nowadays.
Now, if I get that Friends song in my head the rest of the day there’s going to be trouble!
Oh, trust me, Friends in on here 24/7 on some channel somewhere as well! You can’t avoid it. It’s a good thing I love it.
That’s funny about Curb Your Enthusiasm because I have never seen an entire episode of THAT show. I think Larry David is hilarious, but I just can’t get into Curb like I did with Seinfeld. (I don’t have HBO either)
1994….Hmmmm…. I just wrote about time and now I don’t remember that year at all! My daughter was 3 and my son was 5. I don’t think I watched anything, but Seseme Street, Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine videos!
I bet that was one of those years when everything was a nonstop blur for you, Susie. When my kids were very young, I rarely got to do anything like breathe…let alone watch any ‘adult’ TV shows!
Oh I am in love with Friends! And I must have rewatched every episode tons of times. I didn’t particularly hate it at the beginning (Though I started watching it sometime around 2005 coz when it started I must have been around 4). But I definitely found Rachel’s hair-do annoying. My current favorites are Two and a Half Men and Dexter, though I don’t think I can ever hate any TV series 🙂
Ooh, now Dexter is supposed to be a great show. I guess the critics love it as well. I haven’t seen a single episode maybe because whenever I see him in an advertisement, he’s always covered in blood and looking too scary for me.
OMG. DEXTER IS AWESOME. My only quibble is the amount of time he takes off from his job–I’m like, really? They let you take off at the drop of a hat like that? But other than that, I LOVE it. Some of the best TV writing I have ever seen. Dexter, Sons of Anarchy and Sopranos are three of my absolute faves. All about killers, bikers, and mobsters. Hm. I seem to have a fixation with the darkside of humanity, yes? But seriously, that’s where the most interesting story lines come from. None of this by the numbers stereotypical crap that you get in sit-coms. There is real growth in the characters and each have their own story arcs, the acting is fabulous and the writing is great. Did I say that last thing already?
Um…I never got beyond that same, first impression. I’ve seen approximately 2 episodes so none of this “in the weeds” obscure ranting means anything to me. But it’s still way clever, I can tell.
I HATE that we can’t share what is so clearly an important part of your life.
So this is where you got Mr. Skittles?
‘obscure ranting’ that you can tell is still ‘way clever’? hahaha! You are the master of commenting, Peggles.
Don’t hate that you can’t share, it’s not a huge deal. If it’s on, eh, I’ll watch it. This post was kicking around in my draft box for an eternity so I thought I’d dust it out and publish it finally…clean out the cobwebs.
And noooo…no Mr. Skittles wasn’t born from Friends. Mr. Skittles was born from an old Greatsby post when he mentioned monkeys in China.
Oh, I thought when the actor/monkey was out of a job when Friends ended, maybe he came to live with you.
Wow. Friends. I absolutely fell in love with it from the very start. I actually remember sitting in my dorm room freshman year watching the first episode. It was love at first sight. I held my breath in anticipation when Ross & Rachel first kissed and cheered with the rest of the world. I used to rewatch the eps ad nauseum years later, over and over and over. I’ve seen them all umpteen times. In fact, a couple weeks ago when I was at the ocean, I was flipping around and they were showing the beginning eps, where Rachel is dating Paolo and Chandler’s mom first shows up (and kisses Ross), and there was my favorite comedic scene of all time. Not just on Friends, OF ALL TIME. It’s the one where Joey is trying to teach Ross how to talk dirty and he is practicing on him and Chandler is watching. It is just so uncomfortably hysterical. I laugh like crazy every time I see it.
As to Seinfeld, I was always very Meh about it. My college boyfriend loved it, so I was forced to watch it, and I eventually gained an appreciatioin for it and learned to like it somewhat, but it was never a favorite. And if I am flipping around and find a rerun, I will only stay on it if there is nothing else. It still just does nothing for me.
I don’t get the appeal of 2 & 1/2 Men. I don’t find it funny in the least. I just don’t get it at all. It is completely dumb and lowest common denominator funny. I am not amused.
Oh yeah! I know the scene you mentioned! Hysterical! Friends has the ability to make me weep from laughing. Really excellent writing.
I am finding if funny so many people don’t like Seinfeld. It was one of the most popular shows of all time! Someone had to be watching it besides me! (my husband HATES it too)
Oh and yeah, the jokes on Two and a Half Men don’t make me laugh much. Plus, I just don’t like Jon Cryer (or Charlie Sheen) Or Ashton Kutcher for that matter. And the theme song! “Men men men men men meeeen” UGH!!! I cringe when I hear it! GAH!
Loved it the first couple of seasons, despite the annoying monkey, the cat song, etc. But it lost me when Rachel and Ross hooked up. And Courtney and Magnum PI?!! Ugh!! It jumped the shark somewhere around then.
Overall, though, I have great memories of watching it during the first year of law school, along with Mad About You (which jumped the shark when they sorta cheated on one another–who dreamed that one up??!).
yes, Mad About You! I am a huge Paul Reiser fan. I loved him in his old stand-up days and I’ve loved his comedy books. But I never like Mad About You. Something about Helen Hunt just bugged the hell outta me. I didn’t know they cheated on each other…dang. Trying to boost ratings I assume.
Loved friends from the first – could have done with out the monkey (or the rachel). Seinfeld on the other hand… took awhile.
yeah, see, I guess it took a lot of people awhile to like Seinfeld, if at all. I guess I just never realized.
I was at exactly the right age to love Friends when it started, because I was a senior in high school. And I did have the Rachel haircut, and everybody LOVED it when I had it done, but I hated it because my hair sucks and having the Rachel meant rolling it in velcro rollers, spraying it, drying it, unrolling it, combing it out and sometimes teasing it, and then doing the zig-zag part. Very high-maintenance. And I liked the opening sequence, but now that you’ve spelled it all out I feel foolish. (The couch/lamp thing seemed particularly brilliant and “Who does that?”)
Well I am the type who goes against the grain at first. I will hate something just because everyone else loves it. Must be the stick-in-the-mud Mainer in me. I am very slow to jump on any bandwagon. Like Facebook. And blogging. At first I’ll rant about it…then eventually cave and get sucked into it like everyone else. So I grew to love Friends (and even the opening sequence with the couch and the lamp)
Oh I totally get the bandwagon issue. I am exactly the same way with most things. I support that.
I definitely didn’t watch Friends when it was first airing and from people said about it… I don’t think I would have liked it. I didn’t watch it until 6 years ago? And I totally fell in love with it to the point I bought the whole entire series (In my defense, I bought it because in a month I am going to have my mouth wired shut due to surgery and I needed something uplifting to keep my mind off things). Season One is not my go-to-season to watch, but it was quirky enough for me to laugh at it.
Well, watching Friends will certainly help you recovery after your surgery. Hope it goes well and you heal fast.
The first season is quirky. I can see that now. I can almost watch those episodes now without cringing!
Oh definitely. The healing powers of Phoebe’s terrible singing and Monica’s obsessive cleaning and competitiveness. But yeah… the monkey was completely random… but Marcel later becomes a movie star so I guess that’s cool!
He did? well, gotta give that monkey props…
Oh my god, Dippity-Do! Wait, did I just give away something about my age because I know what Dippity-Do is? Dear lord, my mother had that stuff by the case.
I honestly can’t remember when I saw Friends for the first time, but I don’t remember ever hating the show, so I must have liked it from the start. I don’t think I loved it, though, until I went to Turkey. One of my students in the high school that first year loved the show and had a lot of them on dvd, which she would then lend to me. I spent many hours sitting in the school’s video lab at night (my apartment was in the school), curled up with a blanket and bad Turkish beer, watching episodes over and over again.
As for Seinfeld, I loved it from the very first episode because Jerry Seinfeld reminded my sister and me of a very funny guy that we used to work with at a sporting goods store. We were talking on the phone a few days after the pilot and someone asked if the other had seen that new show. At the same time, we both said, “It’s Kenny S!!!” Looking back at the early episodes, I realized how many jokes they made that people from outside of the NY area might not have gotten, like Kramer telling Jerry that if he didn’t want to be part of society, he might as well just “pack up and move to the East Side!”. Or Elaine talking about her trip to the airport when she was tired of that guy who was visiting her. “And then I hit….the Van Wyck…” They stopped doing so many of those types of references in later seasons.
And speaking of Seinfeld, you line, “It was like watching two old ladies fight over the last loaf of rye bread at the Buy N Bag.” was very Seinfeld-esque. It reminded me of the start of George’s marine biologist story. “The sea was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.”
ha! I am glad you knew what Dippity-Do was…I remember having that in our house too a looong time ago.
Bad Turkish beer and Friends sounds like a fabulous combo to me! (I just love your stories, Leonore, your should write a book)
And you’re right about Seinfeld, definitely a lot of inside New Yorker stuff. That’s why I loved it and my dad did too (He grew up in New York City)
You are very perceptive–that WAS supposed to be a Seinfeld-ish line about the last loaf of rye bread. Haha! I was thinking about Seinfeld as I wrote it. I just loved the marine biologist episode–when I first saw that I laughed until I cried. Loved George Costanza. My other fave was when he comes out of the bathroom screaming, “Say Vandelay! SAY VANDELAY!!!”
I never caught on to it, and laughed in understanding to your reasons why. I missed out on the whole hoopla because we didn’t have cable television. Watching a few reruns,I was always confused whether I was supposed to find Rachel and Ross attractive, because I didn’t see it. Whenever it comes on I change the channel.
But I could watch Roseanne over and over, so I don’t know what that says about my taste in television. Except for that it’s AWEsome! haha…
Loved your post!
“confused whether I was supposed to find Rachel and Ross attractive, because I didn’t see it” <— EXACTLY.
Now Roseanne? THERE is a show I loved through and through. Well, until the end when she started doing some bizarre flashback stuff and the finale was just so damned depressing. I have all of Roseanne seasons on DVD. The one show my husband and I agree on besides Friends.
I watched that show a LOT during college, but not that much during high school. It seemed to get better once the coupled off Chandler and Monica.
I never really cared for Rachel. I thought she was a brat, and didn’t care too much about any of her “romances”. And although the monkey was AWFUL, the writing was otherwise pretty ingenious.
Yes, Rachel was a brat! And she did have some lame romances…one was with some guy named Tag at one point…blah.
The show just never really did it for me. I wasn’t all too impressed with the cast. As it turns out, Lisa Kudro is verrry good on her new show on Showtime, “Web Therapy”. The rest of them continue to be unimpressive, particularly Matt LeBlanc, who’s show “Episodes” is abyssmally horrible, but people love it. I tried to watch it and just began to be disgusted with almost every character in it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the Beverly Hillbillies is coming on soon.
I just caught a bit of Episodes and I thought it was just a bad show overall. I’ve heard only good things about Web Therapy. Lisa was just on Conan promoting it and she makes me laugh so hard, I just love her!
She plays a really good part, in a very well written show. Unlike most of her “Friends” she does NOT play an older version of her character. Episodes is just horrible, and most of the people i’ve met who like it, seem to because of some odd fascination with the two British characters, who are flat and unlikeable. Matt LeBlanc plays himself, which somehow manages to be a stretch for him.
Exactly-flat and unlikeable, you nailed it.
Oh, and poor LeBlanc is playing himself? What a stretch! God, if only I could land a show playing myself or make a reality show about my life and start raking in the big bucks. Still waiting for this blogging thing to pan out….
Lisa Kudro also did a show I really liked called The Comeback — it was framed as raw footage from a reality show about an actress who’d been on a successful sitcom, then hadn’t worked in ten years, and then was making a comeback. It was both funny and cringe-inducing.
missed that one. sounds good though
Yes! I remember that show. I thought it was good. I really love her in anything. She was just on Conan and she comes off as so funny and genuine.
My old roommate and her brother watched Friends all the time, but I just couldn’t get into it. Jennifer Aniston annoys the crap out of me for some reason – and it doesn’t help that Rachel NEVER wears a bra. Why does this bug me so much? No idea.
The three best things about it: You broke my fridge, the episode where they eat cheesecake off the floor, and Chandler. I have a soft spot for Matthew Perry.
I grew up on Seinfeld, so I’ve always enjoyed that show, but I HATED Frasier when it first came out. It took me getting super sick and being bed ridden for a few weeks, stuck in front of the TV with nothing on but a Frasier marathon to get into it – now I love it though!!
The current shows I “don’t get” are The Big Bang Theory, and 2 1/2 Men (pretty sure those have been mentioned above).
I just spit out my water. yes! What is it with the no bra thing! Either it’s super cold in the room or she needs some serious extra coverage. (this might be the main reason my husband watches the show)
I loved Chandler too. Perry’s been in a few shows since and they’ve all bombed. Poor guy.
My husband has been forced to watch many episodes of Frasier and he still hates it. I just can’t wrap my mind around that.
Haha I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed it! (Although how could I be? It was obviously done on purpose).
I keep hoping one of Perry’s show’s will stick, I was a HUGE fan of Studio 60, I was so upset when it was canceled.
I liked Studio 60, but he can’t find a show that works to save his life. He has yet ANOTHER TV show coming out this fall too!
I know…I have my fingers crossed!!!
I love that you mention Seinfeld! I felt about Seinfeld the way you felt about Friends . . . except, in my case, I still can’t stand Seinfeld. Even the thought of it gets me feeling all hive-y.
I don’t love Friends, but I don’t dislike it. I can watch multiple episodes without either a strong positive or strong hive reaction. :p
Haha! All hivey! I love that, Deb. Well, that’s too bad. Man, I am in awe how many of you guys hate Seinfeld!
I was always a bigger Seinfeld fan than Friends fan. I still watch Seinfeld in reruns. Still love it. Friends, I liked, but didn’t adore. Must have been Rachel’s hair.
Hugs,
Kathy
I adored Seinfeld too. A little too much> I can’t even watch it now because every episode is ingrained in my brain for all eternity.
Oh, that Rachel do. That is the reason I didn’t watch that show. I still don’t because I don’t particularly like any of them.
But when my Dad died, I returned to the US in desperate need of a haircut. I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the stylist didn’t listen to what I wanted. I walked out with a Rachel cut, the 19 year old stylist pronounced me “SASSY.” (Yes, I knew I was in trouble at that moment. When my husband saw me, he was surprised but very polite. He told me that he was surprised to see me with that style because he’d always thought that folks withit looked like our dog, Cooper. A springer Spaniel with long curly ears and nothing on the back. Sigh.
If this comment looks weird it is because the box won’t enlarge and I am talking
I have to confess to having something similar to a ‘sassy’ cut done to my hair more than once. I think I must’ve been drunk at the time or something. Seriously though, everyone I knew had that haircut at the time. The Rachel was everywhere. I guess it beats my old Farrah Fawcett look.
No way!!!! Farrah lives! Of course, I still look like my dog. We’re both shaggy!
They say an owner starts to resemble their dog….
I am ridiculously shaggy these days. My hair is long and thick and pretty much a lost cause.
Writing actually. Without being able to see what the hell I am saying . Oh well. It was close to what I wanted to say!
God, I hate when that happens. If I’m typing a comment out on my dinky little iPad, I can’t see a blessed thing anyway.
Darla honestly, when it aired in our country for the first time, I was a school going kid. And the funniest part then was , we were not allowed to watch any English movie or TV show at home then, as they had kissing scenes, just as you mentioned. 🙂 It’s such a funny coincidence, I have written about these instances in my book, how we had to grow up in a conservative society. But l I enjoyed your post a lot and again now I do not have to keep that “Parental rating” in mind, while watching or reading something, so now I do watch them, occasionally, as I am not that much of a TV shows fan.
I can see why you’re not a big TV fan. To be honest, you are not missing much these days. There just aren’t many quality programs on anymore.
As I grab my helmet and prepare to run to my basement bunker, I will reveal a horrible truth – I STILL don’t get “Friends”! (Ducks and runs.)
Sorry, I don’t get it. I watch “Seinfeld”, I love “Big Bang Theory”, and though a buddy of mine absolutely WORSHIPS Jennifer Aniston, I gotta say – Sorry, none for me, thanks.
Then again, I tend to be into “how-to” shows. Like how to make your own machine gun. How to restore your own 70s British roadster. How a modern battle tank is built.
Yeah. I’m sick. 😀
I have to say I’ve never understood the fascination with Jennifer Aniston either. My husband doesn’t find her attractive at all. (he’s more for Angelina Jolie).
And I am shocked, shocked you like the ‘how to restore your British roadster’ shows, John.
There is a certain amount of Jewish humor in both shows that I know a lot of people did not get at the time.
I’m guessing you have warmed up to it slowly.
I had these same kinds of issues with CHEERS. I know. You probably loved CHEERS. But I came into it late, and I just wanted to kill Diane. I was like: Why does Sam want to get on THAT? Whaaat?
Now. Some things you need to know about me if we ever meet. *wink*
1. I look like Rachel.
2. I have Monica’s body.
3. I cannot play the guitar. (No “Smelly Cat.”)
4. I laugh like Janice.
Just kidding. My boobs are bigger than Monica’s. 😉
Ooh, yeah. I hated Diane! Are you kidding me? I can’t bring myself to watch the earlier Cheers seasons at all. I really loved the show when Rebecca and Woody came on board. My personal fave was Carla and her zingers. (Not that I have any experience with zinging people or anything…)
You laugh like Janice? OH GOD IN HEAVEN. I can’t believe I forgot to add her to my list of what annoys me about Friends!
Well, IF we meet 😉 I’ll let the Janice thing slide. And I know about the boob thing, I’ve seen your chipmunk bikini. Let’s just say if we DO meet one day, you’d better now put that on at the beach because I will be wearing a tent and seething with jealousy.
I did not watch Friends until it was in reruns – but I think I have seen them all. I do love your review though.
What show do I hate – all the Housewives shows – what an embarassment and the Kardashians are almost as bad – actually you could put just about all the reality shows in a bag and thrown them in the Deitroit River
Please, dear lord, why can’t someone do that? The Housewives/Kardashian craze has GOT to stop!
People have to stop watching first though – I just do not understand it 🙂 I love Downton Abbey and Community–they are my two new favourite–to add to Big Bang Theory and the Gilmore Girls (gone but not forgotten)
Community! I am a HUGE fan! Sadly, I see the show fading away already. Chevy Chase is fighting with everyone on set apparently.
My fave is: “Troy and Abed in the moooornin” show. God, I love those guys.
yeah yeah I know – Detroit
Ten reasons you didn’t like the show, yet you persevered. Maybe you should do a post with ten reasons why you did like it!
I must have been feeling particularly cranky the day I wrote this post. Had to get a good rant out.
Haha. To this day whenever me and the missus hear the line “So no one told you life was going to be this way” we both instinctively do the clap-clap-clap-clap bit that comes straight after. I presume it is there to snap you out of the hypnotic trance that Rachel and Ross’s hair have put you in.
My husband and I also can’t resist the clap-clap-clap thing. We usually stand up and dance and make fools of ourselves during the theme song. And thoroughly embarrass my kids so it’s all good.
OMGosh (just for the record)–that’s the show that said words like “Du-ude”, “Crap”, “You suck. It sucks.” and “Oh-my-God” in just one sitting. Yes, I sat with my young impressionable daughter #2 through those shows and loved sitting with her. Daughter #1 loved 90210. To this day I think that’s why she moved to CA…for the zip code…not that one, but hers does start w/ 9.
Oh, 90210! Here’s a little secret: my husband LOVED that show.
Great post!
I loved friends from near enough the beginning. I have to admit with the first episode I was a bit confused; I’m not sure I got it, but I pushed through and settle down to watch it the following week (then the following week) and became hooked by the time we were half way through the series. I’ve watched them soooo many times and I never get tired of them. I think series 3 is where I actually fell in love with it! I don’t know if you would know about ‘Father Ted’ or ‘only fools and horses’ but they too are favourites of mine.
I loved scrubs too… for a bit, series 1-5 are fab, but then it begins to lose itself I think… which leads me onto something I don’t like (but don’t hate) ‘Greys Anatomy’ admittedly I have never watched an episode but it seemed too much like scrubs so I immediately disliked it, how dare they try to be scrubs (i thought).
I’ve never watched Seinfeld but have heard great things.
I loved Scrubs, too. But you’re right, toward the end of the series, I lost interest. Funny you said that about Grey’s Anatomy because that is the perfect example of a hugely popular show that I HATED. Still hate it. I’ve tried to watch it and managed to kinda like it after I saw a few episodes. But it just strikes me as such a sappy show, don’t know why but it does. Over the top with the melodrama.
I’m glad I never tried to watch Greys then, seems like i’ve saved myself from something awful! I’ll carry on thinking ‘how dare they try to be scrubs (with a female JD)’
I think I always liked Friends. The thing that bugged me about Seinfeld was that if you missed the first 5 minutes of it, the rest of the show made no sense. But I watched it anyway to see if I could figure it out. The Castanzas always killed me. 🙂
The Big Bang Theory is real popular but I just don’t like it. I thought the first season was very funny, but it went down-hill fast from there (in my opinion). I also don’t like the concepts behind Dexter and Breaking Bad (I don’t care how well-acted or well written people tell me they are). I watched a couple of episodes of each and said, “These shows make my skin crawl. I watch TV for entertainment, not to lie awake at night and worry about the future of society. I could watch the news for that.” 😐
I agree about Seinfeld. It was a lot of inside jokes that you had to follow the entire time or you’d be lost. They would even have ongoing jokes that spanned over several episodes. This is why I loved it. I just saw Seinfeld last night and I couldn’t watch it though. And it didn’t seem as funny as the first time I saw it, but then it was filmed so long ago, my tastes in comedy have changed. I’m used to more the 30 Rock kind of show. Faster paced.
I hear you on Dexter and Breaking Bad. These shows are downright digusting and horrible. I am watching Breaking Bad and I admit I like it so far, but am only on the second episode. I think the acting is amazing so that’s what’s hooking me I think. But you are right, these type of shows are so violent, might not affect me, but could possibly leave bad impressions on the younger crowd and desensitize them more.
OMG, that pic of Rachel is so freaking HOT!!
I remember seeing one of the very first episodes of friends, maybe even the first. I’m not much of a TV watcher and so many sit-coms are so bad, but I remember, I laughed my ass off and thought “what a great show! And it turned out to be. BTW… that photo of Rachel… HOT!
So what are you trying to tell me here, Steve? Please, just let your feelings out, it’s okay. You liked The Rachel didn’t you? *shaking head*
Speaking of hot Rachel…my older brother saw Jennifer IN PERSON. Yes, she was filming in Oregon a few years ago. My sister-in-law was perfoming in a band and Jennifer walked by her and gave her the thumbs up sign. Both my brother and my sister-in-law said she was the hottest person they had ever seen in their lives. Even hotter in person.
“The Darla…” Bwahahaha! That is awesome. I never was into Friends until it wasn’t cool to be into Friends anymore, because I’m anti-society that way. I agree with Brown. Rachel IS hot. But getting a Rachel-cut never made anyone hot like that (that I ever knew, anyway). Cleaning poo out of the couch cushions…wow, Darla. This one is just chock full of goodies. 🙂
I am very anti-society too. I hated Facebook in the beginning. Wait…I still hate it. 😀
Yes, Rachel is hot. See my above reply to Brown AKA Steve.
I am thrilled you liked the couch cushion/feces crack. I put a lot of thought into that caption. (I think I was half asleep when I wrote most of this post)
I read…wow! Thumbs up for JA. That’s gotta go in the memoirs.
I loved Seinfeld, but never got into Friends. It was so cliquey and the characters were kind of weak to me. MLB watched Friends all the time. When I did watch it, Phoebe was my favorite, though. Hmm, what does that say about me, D?
I too, never watched Raymond until after the show ended. Now I can watch it in reruns and I really like it. Something about the married city-dweller thing that’s appealing.
I love that I’ve never seen many Raymond episodes, so I have like NINE season to catch up on! And it’s on all the time in reruns now.
Are you sure you loved “Friends”? Your comments are just hilarious. I confess that I got a “Friends” collection for Christmas one year, never watched it – even when it was on TV, and donated the collection to a fundraiser for our middle school.
I was stuck on “Happy Days” and “CSI.” Obviously, I have a split personality. 🙂
I used to love Happy Days. Another fave was Laverne and Shirley. I have never seen one episode of CSI, I know I’m in the minority.
I love Friends and actually have it on right now. I never realized how strange the monkey thing was until you said it.
I’ve never bought into the whole Ross/Rachel thing 100% because we all know they would never date in real life. I mean, if they were real people.
That’s just it–zero chemistry for me between those two!
And yes, the first season of Seinfeld was AWFUL. I can’t believe they didn’t cancel it.
If Seinfeld was on TV now, they would have definitely canceled it after the first season.
How did I miss this post?! I could talk about Friends all day! First of all, you know I’m with you on the ‘stache. And I don’t think I’ve EVER appreciated Marcel as much as I do right now, in my old age, thinking about how dang hard that must have been to actually film.
During the first season, it took me about 7 episodes to admit that I actually loved it.
Phoebe was always my favorite, but now when I watch, I find myself laughing the hardest at (with?) Ross. There’s just something about his delivery and facial expressions, I think.
Ross is HYSTERICAL. I agree. He’s one of my favorites. I loved the one where he’s playing a keyboard singing “Infinite space and time!” Oh god, I died watching that one.
My least faves are probably Chandler. And Rachel.
Darla! I wrote you a crazy long response on my iPhone, and the damn thing froze up on me.
Mostly, I wanted you to know that I look exactly like Rachel.
Except my body is like Monica’s.
Are you laughing?
Hopefully, you will get to see how off this is at some point. *wink*
I’m sure I will. Someday soon. (and yes, I’m laughing)
I never came around and jumped on the Friends bandwagon. I just didn’t Get It. Same with Seinfeld. I thought both were really dumb, Not Funny shows. I’ve seen plenty of episodes of both, but each time, I almost always was like “what the heck did I just waste that time for? I could have been doing something constructive, like dishes.”
Another show that some people liked that I couldn’t stand was Sex in the City. Bleck.
Sex and the City. I tried to like it. I watched a few seasons until I decided that I hated it. I couldn’t get past the fact that she called her boyfriend ‘Mr. Big’.
I loved Friends up until they’d throw in some kind of serious sappy scene when they’d do a big group hug. Ugh! Can’t they be like the Seinfeld gang and be completely shallow and unlovable? I love Ross’ character. Especially toward the last few seasons when they write him even more neurotic.
True story. Ellen DeGeneres’ old sitcom used to be called These Friends of Mine before it was renamed simply Ellen. I loved that show and never knew what Friends even was until it was in its third season. People would talk about it and I assumed they were talking about Ellen. A lot of big misunderstandings ensued. Which of course form the basis of the modern American sitcom.
Ross was my favorite too. And to think David and I came thisclose to falling in love at Yankee Candle. We could have adopted a pet monkey together.
I know all about These Friends of Mine! Yes. I watched every episode as well. The kiss of death is changing the show’s title in the middle of it…never a good idea.
Friends was my life in the early days, but then again, I was only 13 years old at the time. As is the case with youth these days, I grew bored of the series in a year or so and never got to see awkward moments like Monica and Chandler dating/getting married. The only TV show I watch right now is… ahem… the Bachelor/Bachelorette series. I know. I hate it so much I love it. 🙂
13??!!! Oh, Dana. I feel so old now. I was 24. sigh.
I caught one episode of the Bachelor once and was actually sucked into the drama so I stopped watching it right after. I don’t have enough time between that and my Honey Boo Boo fixation. (just kidding, I’ve never seen that show,my husband watches it though!)
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was mature for my age. 🙂
Somehow I don’t feel much better. 😉