Friends star Matthew Perry dead of apparent drowning (1 Viewer)

[TheRealJRad]

RIP Mr Perry.

Am I the only person in the US that didn’t care for Friends? It just wasn’t funny to me.

I never watched it when it was on, just had it on as a background show here and there. It's nothing I go out of my way to watch, but I wouldn't change the channel if it were on.

 

[Cage1]

I guess Keanu Reeves got the last laugh.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Way too many superlatives here for me
It was very well crafted as a sitcom
In the same vein as big bang or everybody loves Raymond or something like Happy Days
They kept main characters mostly flat and got their variations mostly from changing the ‘situations’ or with wacky guest stars

Which sets it apart (not in a good way) by shows like Taxi or Barney Miller or Scrubs or Community or even Seinfeld
These gave their characters actual foibles and thus the possibility for character arcs (and troughs)

either approach- character vs situation- can be very funny
But situation is way more formula/safe so potentially not as impactful as character

Ok Captain Contrarian .. The fact that you claim the characters in Friends had no actual foibles leads me to believe you havent seen all that many episodes, or maybe you havent seem them since it’s original run, and you have forgotten over the last 25 years- those characters had nothing BUT foibles……. To lump Friends in with Raymond or Happy Days is just irresponsible…. And while i love Taxi and Seinfeld et al- Friends is every bit as deserving of being in the conversation with those shows..if you disagree, i suggest you go back and watch the first 3 or 4 seasons of Friends (since i do think there were some weaker seasons around 2001-2002.)

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Speaking of apps that will be available in Hell- I went to “Insta” as the kids call it, or “The Gram” as i call it- so yall dont have to .. his last post was a couple days ago from his jacuzzi, but most of us would consider it a warm swimming pool.. it’s not small

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Yeah, that's definitely a large jacuzzi. I've been in a similar one before at a friend's house a while back. They're pretty nice, but ridiculously expensive to buy, install and maintain.

That's not the jacuzzi in that photo. That's an infinity pool. The jacuzzi is connected to it (refer to the photo in the OP link).

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Ok Captain Contrarian .. The fact that you claim the characters in Friends had no actual foibles leads me to believe you havent seen all that many episodes, or maybe you havent seem them since it’s original run, and you have forgotten over the last 25 years- those characters had nothing BUT foibles……. To lump Friends in with Raymond or Happy Days is just irresponsible…. And while i love Taxi and Seinfeld et al- Friends is every bit as deserving of being in the conversation with those shows..if you disagree, i suggest you go back and watch the first 3 or 4 seasons of Friends (since i do think there were some weaker seasons around 2001-2002.)

‘actual’ is the key
Obviously married with children characters or homer/Bart Simpson have foibles built into the character characters can still be flat with foibles
But for character depth there has to be a degree of irrationality- like the rest of us humans

I acknowledged it was a well crafted/well written show- it just doesn’t have that extra dimension that puts it in the pantheon

and you clearly like the format- nothing wrong with that
People like Billy Joel more than Tom Waits , that’s fine too

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

‘actual’ is the key
Obviously married with children characters or homer/Bart Simpson have foibles built into the character characters can still be flat with foibles
But for character depth there has to be a degree of irrationality- like the rest of us humans

I acknowledged it was a well crafted/well written show- it just doesn’t have that extra dimension that puts it in the pantheon

and you clearly like the format- nothing wrong with that
People like Billy Joel more than Tom Waits , that’s fine too

Jesus Christ .

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

That's not the jacuzzi in that photo. That's an infinity pool. The jacuzzi is connected to it (refer to the photo in the OP link).

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I am no expert on jacuzzis, or infinity pools, sadly.. but in the pic id posted, it looks like he was chilling in the hot tub/jacuzzi and his quotation - which i could not fit into the pic- made reference to the fact that he was sitting in “swirling warm water”.. every pic ive seen looks like it was an infinity pool/hot tub set up and it looks like in the final pic he posted he was leaning on the ‘barrier’ between the hot tub and pool, and like i said he even mentioned the swirling warm water .

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Jesus Christ .

Ok fine but let’s just be clear with the contrarian thing
A poster said they weren’t a fan - you took a contrary tact implying their opinion was wrong and that it’s a great show
My response to you was not contrary- I didn’t say it was a bad show , just not a great show
Great v good is not a contrary position

 

[Saintman2884]

RIP Mr Perry.

Am I the only person in the US that didn’t care for Friends? It just wasn’t funny to me.

No, sir. I can assure you were and still are far from the only person in this country of ours who didnt like or tolerate it then, or now. I tried watching Friends about 20 years ago, a few clips intertwined between some episodes shown in syndication and I still aggrieved that I lost about 2 hours of my life back then.

 

[Saintman2884]

‘actual’ is the key
Obviously married with children characters or homer/Bart Simpson have foibles built into the character characters can still be flat with foibles
But for character depth there has to be a degree of irrationality- like the rest of us humans

I acknowledged it was a well crafted/well written show- it just doesn’t have that extra dimension that puts it in the pantheon

and you clearly like the format- nothing wrong with that
People like Billy Joel more than Tom Waits , that’s fine too

Guido, Al Bundy might've been alienated from his job, felt he had a miserable existence and a go-nowhere job, he felt that a lot of possibly great opportunities slip through his fingers in life, what he did vs. what HR really was, what he aspire, his kids, at times, don't respect him, think he's out-of-touch, doesn't understand them, his daughter is a big, stereotypical "dumb Blond" bombshell, his son, is a sex-obsessed, horny still-pathetic, sort of Al Bundy Jr. in the making..

He has the most terrible, inopportune sort of !luck and suffers through almost unbelievable, unimiganitive calamities and yet as sleazy, low-fi Al Bundy's life might seem....he gradually realizes and accepts his family, foibles and all, deeply flawed, he loves his wife and his kids even though he tells her how he might not have married her if given the choice again. He accepts his life and situation because it's the best he's got and he(and his family) have to make the most of it.

 

[Eeyore]

RIP Mr Perry.

Am I the only person in the US that didn’t care for Friends? It just wasn’t funny to me.

I didn't care for it, but I don't like most television. Even if I like something, I'll forget that it exists rather quickly.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I just realized- for people who loved watching that show- seeing the cast of Friends at a funeral for one of their own is going to be absolutely brutal .

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

I loved the show. But when it came out, I was in high school at the time. My thoughts were tied up in leaving the house soon, rooming with friends, etc. so it seemed more relatable.

I’ve tried to watch re-runs but haven’t been able to get through them. It definitely is symbolic of a certain period of time in my life and “the Rachel” haircut had ladies in this country in a chokehold. I had that haircut and so did all my friends.

 

[Saint Jack]

RIP Mr Perry.

Am I the only person in the US that didn’t care for Friends? It just wasn’t funny to me.

Friends always seemed to be like pop music. The most popular, but never the most influential show.
Especially when you see shows like The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Always Sunny’s influence on current TV.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I loved the show. But when it came out, I was in high school at the time. My thoughts were tied up in leaving the house soon, rooming with friends, etc. so it seemed more relatable.

I’ve tried to watch re-runs but haven’t been able to get through them. It definitely is symbolic of a certain period of time in my life and “the Rachel” haircut had ladies in this country in a chokehold. I had that haircut and so did all my friends.

Interesting.. i dont generally watch the Friends reruns anymore since i saw SO much of it in the original run- which started when i was in college- and watched the reruns a lot when i was in my late 20s/early 30s.. but on the rare occasion that i do catch a rerun these days, i think it still holds up, at least for me.. maybe it’s just an indicator of my maturity level, ha…. Also, i might have mentioned this in an earlier post, cant remember- but i think there were large portions of a few seasons that were pretty weak- at least by Friends standards.. I particularly cringe whenever i see any of the eps involving the Chandler/Monica marriage storylines.. their dating stuff early on was funny, and IIRC towards the very end of the show the writing got back to being pretty solid.. but now that i think about it, and im sure im not the first to notice this- but basically any of the episodes where Chandler was fat or puffy, generally seemed to be less funny.. and i remember even noticing back then that when Matthew Perry was heavier, his comedic timing seemed off.. ironically, in like season 2 or 3 when he was also apparently strung out but super skinny- his acting seemed really sharp.. just soemhting i noticed .