I personally did not watch Friends in the original run. I saw maybe part of an episode here and there, but that's about it. I finally decided to watch every episode from the beginning to end. It took me a few months, but I recently finished and now I felt it was worth posting my review.
Overall, I found the sitcom to be average. Did some things age well? Yes and no. That's typical with most comedies because society changes over time (hopefully for the better). There were funny parts and not-so-funny parts for me, especially themes that I've seen before in other comedies. I think what I found funny depended on the character, actor, and/or the writers. My character breakdown:
Phoebe (9/10): Probably my favorite character. She said and did ridiculous things that was in line with my style of humor. Sometime I felt like Lisa Kudrow was laughing at herself and they just didn't re-do the scene or didn't edit it out, but it was not common so it didn't take away from my enjoyment.
Monica (8/10): I really like Courtney Cox in this role. I felt bad she was never nominated for an Emmy for her work. I think she deserved a nomination at the very least.
Rachel (7/10): The earlier seasons I was OK with Jennifer and this character but I feel like she got better in the last couple seasons. I will admit the Ross breakup travesty did kind of irritate me, but that's typical I guess between women and men.
Ross (6/10): I really liked Ross in the earlier seasons, but my like for the character waned in the later years. Not sure if it was the writing or the delivery, but I still think David was a good actor in this role
Joey (5/10): Joey was a male Phoebe, only less funny and less savvy. The laughs from this role for me were spotty at best, so I found him to be near the lower end of enjoyable for the series.
Chandler (2/10): By far, my least favorite of the bunch. Rarely funny, if ever. Was it the writing that wasn't my style of humor? Did I simply dislike Matthew Perry so much in this role that I couldn't see past it? Was the character itself just simply annoying, awkward, and unfunny? I'm not sure, but I almost never laughed at his lines or portrayal of this character. I personally think it drags down the series. I know others think he's hilarious, but I just never found him to be that for me.
So, that's it - my review of Friends. All in all, I think as a general sitcom its worth watching. I think its popularity in history should be noted and remembered for what it was worth. I don't know that I would mark it as one of the funniest or greatest sitcoms ever, but it definitely has its place in pop culture history.
Overall, I found the sitcom to be average. Did some things age well? Yes and no. That's typical with most comedies because society changes over time (hopefully for the better). There were funny parts and not-so-funny parts for me, especially themes that I've seen before in other comedies. I think what I found funny depended on the character, actor, and/or the writers. My character breakdown:
Phoebe (9/10): Probably my favorite character. She said and did ridiculous things that was in line with my style of humor. Sometime I felt like Lisa Kudrow was laughing at herself and they just didn't re-do the scene or didn't edit it out, but it was not common so it didn't take away from my enjoyment.
Monica (8/10): I really like Courtney Cox in this role. I felt bad she was never nominated for an Emmy for her work. I think she deserved a nomination at the very least.
Rachel (7/10): The earlier seasons I was OK with Jennifer and this character but I feel like she got better in the last couple seasons. I will admit the Ross breakup travesty did kind of irritate me, but that's typical I guess between women and men.
Ross (6/10): I really liked Ross in the earlier seasons, but my like for the character waned in the later years. Not sure if it was the writing or the delivery, but I still think David was a good actor in this role
Joey (5/10): Joey was a male Phoebe, only less funny and less savvy. The laughs from this role for me were spotty at best, so I found him to be near the lower end of enjoyable for the series.
Chandler (2/10): By far, my least favorite of the bunch. Rarely funny, if ever. Was it the writing that wasn't my style of humor? Did I simply dislike Matthew Perry so much in this role that I couldn't see past it? Was the character itself just simply annoying, awkward, and unfunny? I'm not sure, but I almost never laughed at his lines or portrayal of this character. I personally think it drags down the series. I know others think he's hilarious, but I just never found him to be that for me.
So, that's it - my review of Friends. All in all, I think as a general sitcom its worth watching. I think its popularity in history should be noted and remembered for what it was worth. I don't know that I would mark it as one of the funniest or greatest sitcoms ever, but it definitely has its place in pop culture history.