I have actually never met anyone who has not see F.R.I.E.N.D.S at least once. If not an episode, then they most certainly have picked up bits and pieces from the internet. F.R.I.E.N.D.S is one of those cult TV shows that everybody has heard of, seen, or been part of. Like Star Wars, you’d have to live under a rock to not have ever seen or heard of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
There’s a reason for this. It’s the kind of show which could easily be seen daily, it’s something that has a re-watch quality unlike other. For me, F.R.I.E.N.D.S was my go-to show: whenever I was sad, or when I had been fighting with my mother, or even when I was generally not in the mood – F.R.I.E.N.D.S would remind me of happy times and characters which were as close to my reality as they were within the TV show world.
So here are five reasons to watch daily:
It’s Necessary for Sad Days
Sad days can be anything: from severe relationship crises, to the smallest broken glass which just sends you spiraling into some other world. F.R.I.E.N.D.S during sad days is the equal of therapy. Not because you can step into these people’s lives and ignore everything else – but because it is like talking to your friends about their problems and watching them deal with those problems. It distracts you from whatever you are going through, be it best friend angst, mother-father terror or even that broken glass which was your favourite. After all, Monica’s favourite china plates were broken very severely by her own husband.
An Episode a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
If we ever conducted a study on the effect of watching an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S everyday, I’m fairly certain the results would be conclusive: watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S everyday makes people happy, and it keeps them there. No matter what your life is like, watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S and following their lives is going to make you happy. Plus, Comedy Central shows two episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S daily at nine – just the right time and just the right amount for a pick-me-up.
The Characters
Yes, I am aware that it becomes a little unrealistic. The large apartments in New York, the fact that a waitress and a chef are making enough money for so large an apartment while Monica is out of work. I know, it’s unrealistic that these six friends stay friends for so long without hitches (that would be unfair, though. They have plenty of hitches). But it’s the characters that make F.R.I.E.N.D.S perfect. It never shoves characterization down your throat, it never tells you by weird flashbacks how close two characters are (*cough* I’m looking at you, How I Met Your Mother). And everyone has had these friends in their lives. The spoilt brat, the sarcastic smarty, the boring smarty, the neat freak, the ditzy one and even the one very good with women. It’s immensely relatable.
Ross and Rachel
Literally the most compelling reason to watch the show. Their onscreen chemistry is dynamic, it is powerful, and it is something that is also believable. Ross is insecure, and eventually, they overcome that. Rachel is a little materialistic at times, but she overcomes that. They are a brilliant couple, notwithstanding all the hurdles. Obviously, the parallel is Monica and Chandler – Ross and Rachel always seemed to fit together while Monica and Chandler were opposites that just came together. And I love romance that just comes together.
All the jokes your missed
And there are a lot of them.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S is filled with amazing jokes that you probably didn’t realize were joke the first time around. The amount of punning that goes on in a typical F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode could almost be a precursor to the world of puns the internet has become today.
Fact of the matter is, they haven’t been showing F.R.I.E.N.D.S for a long time on TV. For some reason or the other, F.R.I.E.N.D.S has not been a show broadcasted in India for many years now. There was a time when F.R.I.E.N.D.S was the most natural thing to marathon, but it doesn’t seem to be the case any more. Which is why when Comedy Central started broadcasting, I all but jumped. It’s been too long since F.R.I.E.N.D.S was a part of my daily routine. And I am so glad it’s back.
