“Friends” is There, Even When You’re Alone

Has the pandemic been keeping you from seeing your friends? There is an alternative. It’s not ideal, but it is guaranteed to give you a good laugh. Check out Friends, a 1990’s TV show about six friends and their journey through ten years of their adult lives.

This sitcom is number 21 on TV Guide’s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” list. The main characters, created to neatly fall into common sitcom character stereotypes, include the following: Rachel Green, (Jennifer Aniston), the fashion friend, and her roommate, Monica Geller (Courtney Cox), the friend that loves to clean. Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) is the funny friend and Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), the quirky friend. Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) is the struggling actor friend, while Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), rounds out the main cast as the smart friend.

Why do I love Friends so much? You get to see how the characters fall in love, break-up, and have some real everyday experiences, such as having to go to work and paying rent. But you also get to see them have relationships and understand that sometimes things do not go your way.

I especially like Monica because she is Type A; like me, she always has her apartment clean. She has to have everything a certain way, and her sense of humor is similar to mine. Monica loves to make lists, have everything in a place, clean, cook and bakes. My other favorite character is Rachel since she can defend herself and has a ton of confidence. She is funny and not afraid to speak her mind. Her sense of fashion is nothing like mine, but I do admire it.

The show is still a big hit today, and I think it is not dated because it deals with timeless issues. One of the reasons I still watch this show is because it can make me happy. If I’m having a bad day, I watch five minutes of this show and I can be laughing.
I love this show, for so many reasons but one reason is because when my best friend and I would watch it, it would always make us laugh and somehow brought us even closer together. I have the entire ten seasons on DVD, and a bunch of Friends merchandise. Even though some could say some of the terms and the camera work is outdated, that is what makes this show even better. It shows a different time, instead of the time that we are living in.

I would give this show a 5 out of 5 stars. Friends is rated PG-13 since it can be very inappropriate at times, so I would say maybe no one under 11 should watch it unless you are okay with some sexual humor and some inappropriate language.

Friends is available for streaming on regular cable, Hulu, HBO Max.