Why Every One Loves The Us Sitcom “friends”

SThere isn’t a single person who hasn’t heard of ‘Friends’. A story of 6 friends and their lives may seem boring the way I’ve described it but there is no denial in the fact that ‘Friends’ till date, is one of the most memorable TV shows there has ever been and I’m positive that the ‘Friends’ legacy will continue in the future.

First premiered on 24th of September 1994 on NBC and created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, a time of ultimate comedy began, featuring the 6 friends, Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe. Almost everything about this show is iconic, starting from the theme song “I’ll Be There For You” by The Remembrandts to the 6 friends. With 10 series and 236 episodes, ‘Friends’ became a global phenomenon and even now, countries right from the UK to India know of ‘Friends’ and because it features still on their television channels, people still watch it. ‘Friends’ was in fact so great that on the 6th of May 2004, when the finale was shown, 52.5 million viewers from America tuned in, which became the fourth most-watched series finale in the history of television. But I just thought what makes ‘Friends’ so popular. The answer is simple – the six actors.

Every time you watch ‘Friends’ you will laugh at Chandler’s sarcastic one liners or Phoebe’s capricious behaviour even if you watch it a hundred times. The roles of each of the 6 characters have been sculpted so beautifully that ‘Friends’ wouldn’t be ‘Friends’ if even one of them left. The mantra between the 6 of them is so impeccable that each of their characters are linked to each other and if one of them was absent, the gap would be so great that nothing would be able to bridge it. Each one of the 6 has a set of characteristics linked to them and the fact that no one dominates the show means that we just grow to love them a lot. Even 5 years after ‘Friends’ showed it’s finale to the world, you can picture the actors the moment someone says their name on screen. Joey will always be Matt LeBlanc, Chandler will always be Matthew Perry, Monica will always be Courtney Cox Arquette, Ross will always be Davic Schwimmer, Rachel will always be Jennifer Aniston and Phoebe will always be Lisa Kudrow. You can never picture Joey to be some one else or for that matter, any of the other characters. It can be right to say that even these actors have become the characters they portray. Even offstage, the 6 have become best friends and one true example of this is Jennifer Aniston who is the godmother of Courtney Cox Arquette’s daughter, Coco Riley Arquette. When there is such a great connection between people, the audience immediately warms to them and begins to love them.

That is not all but these characters are who the entire sitcom is based on. The sitcom isn’t based on their lives but if you think about it, it is really them and how they take on life. Nearly each and every one of them has their own individual story and what is brilliant is that there will be a lot of people in this world who can relate to them and who share their story up to a certain extent. The characters are the piece de resistance of ‘Friends’ and make it the success it is today. It isn’t just the main characters who make ‘Friends’ the comical experience of the TV world but even recurring characters. Who can forget Gunther vying for Rachel’s love or Janice with her “OH MY GOD!” and her braying laughter? Even little characters like these add invaluably to the story to make it as we watch it today. These minor characters may not be extremely relevant to the grand scheme of things but they tie the story together and add in that bit of finesse to it in a very comical fashion. You’ve just got to give it up to the creators of ‘Friends’ that TV would be incomplete without it today.

 I am a massive fan of ‘Friends’ and even now, when I watch the finale, a heavy feeling creeps up my heart even though I know that ‘Friends’ will be telecasted from the beginning the next day. It is a real shame that we can’t watch it any more because the group don’t want to get back together even for a film but all we can do is cherish those moments we laughed at the gags and enjoy what has already been put into DVDs. You just cannot deny that ‘Friends’ has made a massive impact on the entire world and has changed the face of television.