[Stu]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

This. Two words to re-enforce this point - Shark porn.

I can understand why Friends is the run away winner in this poll but cant understand some of the point people have made to defend it. For me, there are a number of totally unwatchable episodes that I would challenge anyone why they find it funny. Some of the episodes had way too many jokes and not nearly enough quality control. Characters would say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk presumably in the hope that the audience would laugh at something; anything.

For sure, Seinfeld should be added to this list as should my personal fave The Larry Sanders show. Friends is wildly overrated sitcom that seems to have gained popularity due to the pretty cast and clever marketing. I’m surprised some of the fans on here cant see that.

People don't fall in love with a sitcom for years on end because the cast is pretty or because it is marketed well. If it doesn't strike a certain something with it's audience then the audience won't last. Friend's audience lasted because it's that perfect late evening television filler that's not too demanding of it's audience. It's the television equivalent of your most comftorable but not necessarily your highest quality of flashiest pair of clothes. It wasn't designed to be the smartest thing on the box. It was designed to have a likeable, somewhat goofy cast who went through believable, ordinary trials and tribulations of the human emotional range that viewers would respond to and would sympathise with.

The idea that the characters would pull a funny face or walk funny in the hope that the audience would laugh is just the show doing it's job. It's not a Stewart Lee seminar on cultural phobias.

[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by Stu

People don't fall in love with a sitcom for years on end because the cast is pretty or because it is marketed well. If it doesn't strike a certain something with it's audience then the audience won't last. Friend's audience lasted because it's that perfect late evening television filler that's not too demanding of it's audience. It's the television equivalent of your most comfortable but not necessarily your highest quality of flashiest pair of clothes. It wasn't designed to be the smartest thing on the box. It was designed to have a likeable, somewhat goofy cast who went through believable, ordinary trials and tribulations of the human emotional range that viewers would respond to and would sympathise with.

The idea that the characters would pull a funny face or walk funny in the hope that the audience would laugh is just the show doing its job. It's not a Stewart Lee seminar on cultural phobias.

I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.

[James]

Out of those, and based on how much I laughed in how short a time recently I think I'd have to say the first two series of The Inbetweeners. Though Fawlty Towers is obviously a classic.

Originally Posted by GiRTh

I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.

I started off really disliking Friends, and I only got into it on the repeats. At its best I found the writing to be very good. I actually think, and I'm being serious, that some of the writing is actually quite subversive, especially for a US prime-time show.

Problem with it was it went on for too long, and the 6-main-character format meant they had to keep pairing off the characters into relationships which I didn't think worked too well. I can't really get into other US sitcoms so can't compare it to those.

I like Red Dwarf as well, by the way. It was very well written - funny and clever at its best too.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.

You lost me at 'Everybody Loves Raymond'.

Gotta give a shout out too to That 70's Show, which isin't mentioned in the poll. Kurtwood Smith owns that show. Let's pretend the awful final season never happened.