Today I am here to review one of the most iconic and famed programs in the history of television.  If you found that statement even a little bit vague, you’ll know why by the end of this review.

Friends is a show that began airing on NBC 20 years ago this fall, and wrapped 10 years ago this past May.  It stars Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow as young adults at the beginning of the series who “grow up” into a-little-bit-older-but-not-really-that-old-because-they’re-only-in-their-early-thirites adults.  And the show is basically their day-to-day lives interacting with each other, just messing around, their romances and basically everything you would find in a 90’s situational-centered comedy. I may compare this show to some other sitcoms or comedies along the way, but just know that I’m not saying one is better than the other, unless I blatantly say, “this one is better than that one”.

What really works in this show is the cast.  The show uses an ensemble driven device that makes each character relevant in each episode.  When I talk about this show to my friends, sometimes I forget to mention the ensemble and they’ll ask me, “so who’s the main character?”.  Well each of the six characters is the main character.  There are six main characters.  And the actors in this show just slide right into their characters so believably.  In fact, that point is so true, if you meet one of these actors someplace, you’ll immediately be surprised they don’t act like their character from Friends.  The only actress from the show I’ve seen completely change in his or her roles is Jennifer Aniston, but other than that, I think of the other five actors as their character from Friends in anything else they were in.  And even the guest cast in this show is pretty sweet!  Friends probably has the best line of guest actors I have seen on TV.  There are really good ones in there that I don’t want to spoil and let you guys enjoy, but my favorite is probably the character of Paul, if you’ve seen the show.

Then the other major positive is that this show is actually funny.  There are some really solid laughs in here that are good for tweens, teens, young adults, real adults and even old people.  If I remember correctly, this show actually had a lot of support from a very young crowd when it was on?  I know that in syndication now, all different demographics watch it, but it is such a flexible show it appeals to all different people.  The writers had some really good lines, and made every character memorable, Chandler being my favorite, so good job guys!

But then we get into the problems I have with the show.  The fact that I even have problems with this show is bound to get me some backlash from any die-hard fans out there, but oh, stick around!  There will only be more backlash to come!

This is going to contradict everything I said about the show having great writing, and maybe it’s just a personal preference, but the show doesn’t have that great writing…  As I said, this could just be a personal opinion, but each episode resembles a sketch with the same characters.  I’m going to say something you guys aren’t going to want to hear me say: I like How I Met Your Mother more than Friends.  WHAT!?!?  Yes it’s true.  How I Met Your Mother has lots of running gags and continued storylines, whereas Friends may only use one or two jokes that run throughout its entire show, and not feel like its one continuous show, as opposed to many same-character sketches.  I recognize that this and Seinfeld really are “the shows about nothing” but shouldn’t there be some kind of story involved and not just feel sketch-like?  As I said, it’s probably just a personal preference for there to be a thorough story, however it is my opinion, and that’s why we’re here, for my opinion.

So in the end, there are really good actors, really good characters, solid laughs, but very contradictory writing from my standpoint.  I always think of replay value in deciding what number to give this show.  The question that runs through my mind is: could I watch this show start to finish and not get bored?  And the answer for Friends is no.  There are about 15 episodes I could watch again and again, but the whole show?  Sorry.  So in the end, Friends is a 4/5.  Yes that is a positive grade, and if you actually read the review you know I don’t hate the show, there are just a few errors, which is why saying a show is “one of the most famed and iconic programs in the history of television” was meant to sound vague, because the doesn’t mean “it was the best in the history of television”.

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So guys those are my thoughts on the famous NBC show Friends!  I’m bound to get some backlash, so leave that in the comments down below!  And what’s the greatest comedy ever made?  It can be movie, TV, book.  Whatever those comedies may be let me know down below, and as always, thanks for reading guys.