Friends

I have to be careful with this review. It is a favorite of millions. I also see the DNA in it that allowed for one of my favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory to thrive. Maybe it is a product of the times and my life, but there is nothing good about this show that makes sense.

Garrett

Sep 14, 2026 — 4 min read

Synopsis

A group of selfish friends consistently miss work to drink at a coffee shop while living their lives and never growing up.

Review

So this show mostly takes place in either Monica's apartment or the coffee shop. That apartment is massive, and they do a good job of justifying it sawing it was her grandma's and was rent controlled. The issue with the coffee shop is that THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE. 9am? They are there. 3pm? They are there. 1130? They are there too. In fact the only person who ever says "Oh crap I was supposed to be at work" is the one that probably has the most variable work schedule, Joey. Also, he is out of work for so long and must have owed Chandler $10k+ even in the 90s.

Ok, let us move on to the relationships in this. The best relationships in this show was Chandler and Monica or even Rachel and Joey. However, the latter was ruined by the selfishness of Ross. This entire series comes down to Ross either being babied by his parents, telling everyone he loves them, and being selfish enough that people tiptoe around him. It is incredible how much gaslighting he does in the final 2 seasons to Rachel. It would be a relationship that no friend would recommend.

A little side story of the first time I ever heard about this show. I had just moved to a new state and was at church for Sunday School in 6th grade. This might have been my second week there, I barely knew anyone's name. However, one of the leaders asked this girl Emily what her friend (I don't think they were good friends, so this would have been a shot in the dark to begin with) Brittany's favorite TV show was. Emily said "Friends" and all the adults said almost in unison "Really?" while her mom, who was one of the adults said "I hope not since it isn't allowed in the house." This caused us little ones to laugh and Emily responded with a simple "I have no idea, I don't watch a lot of TV" which was probably true at the time.

My Rating

This show is awful. The issues with Ross aside, the only characters that have any real growth are Chandler and Joey. Everyone else maintains the same selfishness, the same expectations, and the same level of "Woe is me," even when the consequences are completely self-inflicted. Joey stops being a complete sleaze, Chandler learns to love and forgive. Rachel somehow manages to move from assistant to an executive level position and gave up a chance of a lift time. Ross, never changes other than just sleeping with everyone and then asking why they don't love him. The jokes are boring most of the time, with Chandler's jibes being the most common sense of comedy, but mostly become repetitive. I know plenty of people who love this show, but I will never, never, watch another episode if I can help it. It took me so long to get through, and I think it was a complete waste of time.

My frustrations with this show, I really do have to say that I see all the groundwork that it did that allowed The Big Bang Theory to be as good as it was. So for that, I am thankful for this show. There are a lot of similar plot lines, but the changes to the show allowed it to excel where this show bombed. If it wasn't for this, I would give it a 5. However, I'll give an extra point for it so it is a 6.

Parental Rating

They didn't like it back in the day, they for sure won't like it now. There is an INCREDIBLE amount of conversations about sex and sexual innuendos. There is a decent amount of language which surprises me for being on TV in the 90s. Rejected by both without other thoughts needed.