Joey

First off - this is NOT Friends, it will never BE Friends, it SHOULD never be Friends. These simple facts are probably also what most people have against Joey. I don't. I think it's 'Joeys' strength. Joey is a character we've come to love and respect during those past ten years, now that he's 'come into his own' a lot of the plot centers around him and only around him. This is of course the biggest change from that previous show, it is also absolutely necessary. For 'Joey' to work the character has to evolve, Joey himself has to mature and no longer only be the grown-up kid he has been. He is no longer the comic-relief guy who amazes us with his juvenile ways and amazing stupidity. He simply HAS to grow up. And grow up he will. To be honest, I too was skeptical after watching the pilot. But after I got over the facts that I already described in the first sentence of this comment, I just sat back and heartily laughed at the comedy displayed. Just remember these simple things - Michael isn't Ross. Alex isn't Monica, Gina isn't Rachel. Joey isn't Friends, Joey is Joey - and he's growing up. Be happy that you can laugh about it with him.

OK, if your like me, and your a fan of Friends, you might be expecting something similar in Joey. When the Pilot was released I was lucky to find a copy of it some time before the series started, and to be honest, I was not to happy. The jokes in the first few episodes about Joey tended to be a bit unfunny, with most of the jokes being aimed at Joey's sexual habits or his stupidity or Drea De Matteo's Breats.

Many of the jokes are similar to Friends, yet these just didn't feel right. However, having seen the first 10/11 Episodes now, the show seems to be finding its feet. In fairness to the show, the casting is great, with each of the actors being well placed in who they are.

It seems quite strange that none of the Friends cast has made cameos yet, although I have noticed that a number of episodes have been directed by David Schwimmer.

Despite being about its title character, Joey, I cant help but feel that some of the episodes should have some emphasis should be on the other characters similar to how 'Frasier' does this with their characters, with sub plots that happen over the episodes.

All in all, its been a rocky start to Joey, and although its getting better, I still feel as if it should get funnier, as compared to other sitcoms, the jokes do not come so thick and fast. Whether this series will last as long as friends is yet to be seen, but on the whole, this is turning out to be an enjoyable series, if not as great as others.........Yet.

Yeah, it's not a masterpiece. I don't really know who would expect it to be. Joey has turned into a bit of a caricature compared to Friends, where he had shown some growth ,but it's still mildly amusing. The supporting cast are decent, particularly the women. Joey's sister is pretty funny and Jennifer Coolidge. I like Alex too. I enjoyed it for some light viewing and a few laughs. Some of it is a bit cringy since times have changed in the last 15 years, but I personally couldn't take it too seriously. It's Joey. Friends was obviously far superior and funnier, but this is okay and doesn't outstay it's welcome being only 2 seasons long. I'm glad I had a chance to see it.

The problem with "Joey" so far? The minds behind the show seem to have forgotten why we, as viewers, were so taken by Joey Tribbiani on "Friends."

As an idiotic buffoon, he was primarily a great comedic foil for the other characters, especially Chandler, and occasionally would have a solid storyline showcasing that side of him.

But it was the episodes showing that his heart was bigger than his brain -- like the one where he took Rachel out on a dinner date -- that gave Joey real depth and gave viewers a real reason to love the character.

In either case, though, Joey was just 1/6th of the equation, and the character was only asked to carry 6-10 minutes of any given episode, at the most.

Here, they're trying to make Joey carry the entire 24 minutes because, as it stands now, the supporting characters aren't compelling enough to warrant strong independent story lines of their own. And we haven't seen enough of the scenes that show Joey's heart.

It's not a problem that can't be fixed. I think they need to lay off some of the more stereotypical character jokes (Joey dumb, nephew smart, sister tough and oversexed) and put them in situations that are funny, but also make us care more about them. As it stands now, you could almost write the script with adjectives instead of character names, because the characters' natures so rarely change.

Personally, I'd love to see an episode where the supporting cast gets together to plan a surprise birthday party for Joey, with everybody having their own ideas of what to do, but ultimately we find out that none of them really knows Joey as well as they think they do. Something like that would be a great learning and growing experience for the show, its writers, and its characters.

But hey, that's just my opinion.

"Joey" is better than I thought it would be but still not a great show like "Friends." The main problem is that they took the show's dumbest character, Joey, and have turned him into the lead of a major sitcom.

Joey and Chandler were my favorite characters on "Friends" and their subplots allowed the show to take on a new humorous edge, so that the "main plot" (almost always focused around Rachel and Ross) could be spliced with scenes involving Joey and Chandler.

Their chemistry is what made the show so great, but having just Joey in a show is a bit of a problem since, well, to be honest...he's stupid. I.e. he is so stupid that it's hard for us to imagine him succeeding at anything.

The problem with this is that in "Joey" they change his character very much. He's smarter, a bit different. Still dumb, but not as dumb. And I just felt like I was watching an entirely new person. It wasn't Joey. It was Matt LeBlanc saying funny things every now and then.

To be fair the show is watchable and entertaining. It has some good jokes. But it's a bit too obvious. The lines are too explosive and, yes, unrealistic. Every line of dialogue has a witty comeback remark, or is a setup for a joke.

Like when Joey says he's too old to go to bars any more. "Plus, I have a problem telling if they're gay bars or not. By the way, if Ramone calls, I am not here!" It's too sudden, too obvious. Instead of feeling as if Joey's just stupid and innocent (as he was in "Friends"), I felt as if here he was really stretching to be obvious and make people laugh, which is actually a pretty big problem.

Overall, a good show, but you can tell just by the opening credits that it's in a whole other world apart from "Friends."