I never liked the comedy series "Friends."

[no_hypocrisy]

Can someone please explain its appeal?

I have "friends" who have the entire series on DVD. I don't get it.

[doc03]

1. I agree.

[Skittles]

2. I didn't either

yet my great-uncle in England LOVED it.....go figure

[AllaN01Bear]

3. Hear hear.

[unblock]

4. the main appeal is the theme song.

It's all downhill from there.

[Dave Starsky]

39. I thought it sounded like they ripped off The Monkees.

Or Carole King, more properly. She wrote this song:

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I never got it either. It just wasn't my thing.

[dweller]

6. me neither

i have friends... but not like them thankfully
but then i don't get into sitcoms as a general rule... life itself is a comedy in many ways...sometimes tragic comedy as well or at least mine is...

✌🏼

[rpannier]

7. I cannot rec this enough

I didn't like it either. I found it whiny and bland.

[CurtEastPoint]

8. I never got 'Arrested Development' and 'It's Always Sunny..' and others. It's taste.

Jesus Christ.

[DemocracyMouse]

21. Agreed on all of those. Once you've slept with Seinfeld, why settle?

All of those shows were predictable. They lacked a certain brilliance. Too many producers, not enough artistic control.

[rainy]

26. Seinfeld, the best!

[JonLP24]

30. I like It's Always Sunny

I have seen every episode. I don't know why but character like Mac's dad cracks me up and episodes like The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis were hilarious.

[applegrove]

9. I like some romantic movies but didn't love friends. Maybe the anxt

and bumblingness and reality of messy relationship was not something i wanted to re'experience since i am a dork and was never good at it or prone to try. Not my wheelhouse. I did like the perfect romantic comedy or romance. Don't watch much anymore. More into non-fiction.

[Ron Obvious]

10. Neither did I

But then the list of things that are popular but whose appeal entirely escapes me is rather long.

[MontanaMama]

11. I've never been able to watch any series.

for more than a few episodes. My 14 year old son however, thinks Friends is the best. He’s just finishing it on Netflix. It was odd to me but he loves it.

[2_heal_my_country]

12. Different strokes for different folks

Different strokes for different folks is a truism. Some things cannot be explained.

[DemocracyMouse]

24. Yes they can be explained. Some people like dumbed down shows.

Why they like dumb shows is fairly obvious, but not exactly kind to reveal.

[2_heal_my_country]

35. I never watched the show, so I cannot comment

I never watched the show, so I cannot comment on it. I was speaking in general, and I know I liked some shows on TV that others hated. Even I could not explain why I liked them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Same here. I saw a couple of episodes,

thought the premise was dumb and the characters were annoying. I never understood its popularity.

[Ohiogal]

16. Yes!

Annoying and whiny. And not funny.

[Dave Starsky]

40. Every single character is obnoxious and annoying.

All of my friends loved the show and wouldn't miss an episode. I was just shaking my damn head, because I couldn't for the life of me understand what they all saw in it.

[Lochloosa]

14. Now Cheers are my kind of Friends

[LeftInTX]

15. I never got it

[RockRaven]

17. I was never a huge fan, but I think that early on there was some modicum of character

development/elaboration. The basic set-up of six characters with their own particular young-adult issues was formulaic but at least there was some potential for curiosity (what is their backstory which got them to this moment), dramatic tension (how are they going to cope), alongside your typical sitcom comedy.

But once it became established/popular, and the characters all had "things" which were "their thing" then they became rather obnoxious caricatures of themselves. IMO, Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory are examples of other sitcoms which -- to varying degrees -- suffered from the same overly self-referential caricaturization phenomenon whilst being very popular for a decade.

Another reason why some people might be so attached to it *could* have to do with when they first were exposed to it. It is rather well established that musical tastes are formed during adolescence and young adulthood -- people are much more likely to favor musical groups and genres which were available and popular during that portion of their life, no matter the age at which you survey them (also, that tracks with religion and childhood). Maybe something holds true for taste in TV series. Maybe your friends watched Friends during that impressionable portion of their life and thereby have some ingrained non-objective attachment to it.

[ret5hd]

23. Blah blah blah blah blah...c'mon, just...

jump on the hate-wagon! It’s fun!

(To me the show was just boring)

[Generic Brad]

18. Whew. I'm no longer alone

Kindred spirits!

[alittlelark]

19. I tried watching it a few times

It was insipid and very, very WHITE.

[colsohlibgal]

20. I Liked It

Funny is funny and I thought it was....funny. I have the first 8 seasons on DVD.

[no_hypocrisy]

25. What was so funny?

Your honest assessment requested.

[Marie Marie]

22. Never watched even one episode. Just didn't interest me.

[JonLP24]

27. I never liked it either

It was just an average sitcom to me mildly amusing at times.

[Yonnie3]

28. not so much

I like to use them as a cure for insomnia. I mute the TV and make up my own script.

[Miles Archer]

29. It jumped the shark with the introduction of Rachel's boyfriend "Tag" and never came back after that

First, yes...since a lot of people like to compare it to Seinfeld, there is no comparison...Seinfeld kicks its ass.

I did watch it when it aired, and I've watched it since.

In real life, it's not uncommon for people to find boyfriends / girlfriends, maybe get married, maybe have kids.

This show didn't handle that well at all.

It was right around the introduction of Rachel's boyfriend, "Tag," that it became unwatchable for me. I didn't care for the actor at all. He came across as an impossibly stupid stalker kind of dude. Didn't like the character, liked the actor even less.

And after they cleared him out, in about 10 episodes or so, it became all about weddings and pregnancies and the excruciating on again, off again Ross and Rachel thing.

I think the first 6 seasons had a level of "sitcom appeal." I can't explain that appeal, per your request. It was on, I watched it, Tag showed up, it became unwatchable. I know a lot of people felt that way from the first episode, I get it.

And no, I can't explain people who own the entire series, have watched it multiple times, and perhaps even named various pets or children after the characters. All I can tell you is that I'm not one of those people.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

31. I didn't think I'd like it either, so never watched when it aired in prime time, but...

Once I started watching Friends on DVD (someone close to me also has the boxed set!), I ended up loving it.

[Jake Stern]

32. When you find out please let me know

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell attracted people to That 70's Show.

[Beringia]

43. I watched that now and then

It did remind me of the 70s in some ways, the pot smoking, the trying to be cool. I definitely could watch it more easily than Friends. Friends seemed like it was trying to define what others should aspire to, like people should copy the behavior or something. The 70s show had more interesting characters that I could believe. They did have the dumb but cute guy, who went a little further in Hollywood and married Demi Moore. The main character played in a few movies and I have seen the redhead and the brunette in a few things.

Come to think of it, these shows are kind of a variation on Gilligan's island, where you have the interaction between a few males and a few females.

[Flaleftist]

33. It's not just you. nt

[Staph]

34. Friends -- I can take it or leave it.

But I cannot abide Seinfeld. None of the main characters, or the supporting characters for that matter, are people that I would tolerate for more than a few minutes as real human beings. So why should I want to waste my time watching these nasty folks on television?

Maybe it's a city vs. small town thing. The Seinfeld characters seem to epitomize all of the worst stereotypes of NYC natives.

[hunter]

36. There was no "Friends." Television ended here...

[NBachers]

37. I saw Suzanne Pleshette in a 1959 One Step Beyond last night- as a "tough girl" 19 year old.

You could recognize her right away, but she really captured the screen in her "tough girl" role.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0507773/?ref_=rvi_tt

[sl8]

42. Episode on Youtube:

Looks interesting; I'll watch it later.

Thanks!

[lunatica]

38. The old sitcoms were good

like Archie Bunker and during that era.

But once I got cable and the premium channels I never went back to regular television. Too damn many commercials and the programming is too tame. I got used to hearing expletives and seeing adult programming. Regular tv looks like vanilla for kids to me now.

Never did get into Friends or any of the sitcoms again.

[Maraya1969]

41. I remember reading that the Jim Carrey show was failing until they filmed that

Dancing in the Street spot with that fun music. I love that opening and maybe I used to sit through the whole show because of it. Who knows?

[Beringia]

44. How about "The Office"

Sooo boring. A show about a boring job and boring people.

[Boxerfan]

45. I have a standard reply....

Friends,

Don't let Friend's

Watch Friends.

[Fla Dem]

46. Never watched it. I think I was past the age group it appealed to when it debuted in 1994.

[IrishEyes]

47. I really hate Friends but I'm happy some people like it.

Unfortunately. it seems to always be on TV when I give blood and platelet donations. Since platelet donations take 2 hours, I end up watching a few episodes of friends.

I was young when it first came on the air so I grew up with it. I didn't watch it but people would talk about it in school. I never thought it was funny. I found the characters obnoxious, really dumb, lazy, needy and entitled. It was also weird that there were only white people in New York City. I remember there was one Asian woman that Ross dated and one black woman that Ross and Joey dated. Except for a few extras, I don't remember seeing any one who was not white, young and thin.

Of course, this is just my opinion. I'm sure that many people dislike the shows that I love.

[smirkymonkey]

48. I never understood the appeal either.

It's wasn't funny, the characters were annoying, the acting wasn't very good and overall, it just wasn't interesting.