Friends in Retrospect: In Your Misty, Watercoloured Memories...
 

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?

Is there anything you adored obsessively, that you now wonder what the big deal was?

Is there anything that stood out on second or third or three-hundred-and-forty-eighth viewing that you didn’t notice?

For me, the main things were:

S10’s only outstanding episodes are TOW Ross Is Fine and The Last One. And The Last One is only outstanding, to me, because it’s the last one. TOW Ross Is Fine is perfection, though. It’s weird, there were no awful episodes- by “awful” I mean episodes that had NO redeeming features- but they’re the only two I remember vividly.

S9 isn’t half as bad as I thought. It’s still funny, even if the jokes are out-of-character or just stupid, they still make you laugh.

S8 just gets better on each viewing.

I overrated TOW The Prom Video. A great episode, yes, but it’s not in my top three anymore.

I underrated TOW Ross Finds Out, I used to think the only thing I liked about it was the kiss. But, now? The cat, the drunken phone call, the “when where you… under me?” It’s replaced TOW The Prom Video’s position, I think.

TOW The Morning After remains my favourite episode of all time.

And also, Phoebe is the only character who has never been my favourite.

S1: Ross
S2: Rachel
S3: Rachel
S4: Chandler
S5: Monica
S6: Joey
S7: Joey
S8: Joey
S9: Chandler
S10: Rachel

Shockingly, Joey and Rachel are my two favourite characters, and Chandler is the one I find funniest.

Season 2 is forever in a three-way battle with s3 and s8 for my favourite season, while my worst season used to vary day-to-day, now indefinitely, the worst season was s7.

Yes, I'm feeling nostalgic. And yes I'm watching Ten Years of Friends on Yotube over and over even though it makes me sad and is making me tear up. Why does it make me tear up? IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS!

Great idea for a thread, Steph.

Looking back, I think the best seasons are S2, S3 and S5. Although all seasons had hilarious moments.

I think I underrated S8, it is so much funnier now than I thought when I first watched. But it's not my favourite.

S9 will remain my least favourite, although it had its moments, it still is my least favourite.

I realized I like the girls more in earlier seasons.

I think my favourite episode is TOW the football. I can't get enought of watching it.

Thanks! I totally DIDN'T steal it from the Buffy thread. So they can STFU.

I adored season five, but, even though it ranks as many people's favourite season, it's never stood out as amazing for me.

I'm the complete opposite of that. Some times it seems I've built s8 up so much in my head, that when I watch it, I'm, like: is that it?. It's a fantastic season, in my eyes, but I've definitely put it on a pedestal.

Me too. Definitely liked them earlier on.

The One The Morning After, The One Where Ross Finds Out and The One With The Football are my top three. I haven't watched the latter two for ages, though. I'll have to rectify that. Sometimes, TOW Joey Tells Rachel edges out TOW The Football, but that one's obviously for the shipper in me, rather than the critic. I get rather quixotic and sad, so it clouds my judgement.

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?

I still think that Friends is the best comedy series and I don't think there'll ever be another comedy that'll reach the success of this show.

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?

Can't think of anything specific right now.

Is there anything you adored obsessively, that you now wonder what the big deal was?

No. Everything that I used to adore, I still do.

Is there anything that stood out on second or third or three-hundred-and-forty-eighth viewing that you didn’t notice?

I still have moments where I finally get a joke that I never got before. :D

I agree with Cris, great idea!

Well, it's been two years since Friends ended but for me it'll end this Friday. This is the first time that, here in Portugal, i have the whole tv show! Since October/November, that i REALLY watch friends. On the last months i have discovered in me a feeling i never had for a TV-show, a sitcom. I have dinner with Friends, my family reunites to watch friends. I've "met" 6 wonderful people that fill my live, in a certain kind of way. I watch 10 seasons in 10 months, almost. I cried, I laughed a lot, my heart jumped and my heart melted.
I watched friends finale at the same time as i was watching season 5/6 on TV. Now i'll watch it after watch 10 amazing seasons. I'll cry i know. Everytime i watch the finale i always cry, even if i never watched the show, i know i'd cry.

I love all seasons, they are all perfect. Every single episode was kinda party for me cause i always enjoyed that so much. Lame, Bad, Good, Awesome. It's Friends.

My top 10 it's almost 100 episodes. My favs epsisode are the 6 centric... like Thanksgivings or Flashbacks episodes.... The 6 friends together was like heaven to me. I love all that episode.... :D They're the funniest :D
I have to say that the RnR centric episodes have all of my attention. TOW Ross finds out, TOW the prom video, TOW the morning after... and all of them. They are def on my 100's Top 10 episode! :P

The characters.... well, I like Ross even more each day. That guy just cracks me up. :D I like him since the mid's season one until... like Forever.. ahah. That is a character i'll never forget. And Phoebe i like her a lot. She's my second fav character. She hads her ups and downs, yeah, but c'mon, it's Phoebe! :D

Joey and Monica had disappointed me a little bit. I loved monica in early seasons... i still like her... but the way she grow up... the way she was on the later seasons... The constant control, stress, cleaning obsessive thing... I felt i start like her less. Joey never was one of my favs. I love him, he's sweet.. but there some stuff on him i can't stand. So....

I remembered years ago when Friends was showed in late hours... and i stayed awake with my sister because she loved to watch it.. I watched with her, and the characters I can remember the most were Ross, Phoebe and Monica.
Years later, the show was translated in portuguese, which sucks. But still can remember this three characters. Especially Ross and Monica. On that time i already enjoyed friends. But since the last October the show has a Huge meaning in my life.

Oh man.. amazing thread!!

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?

I still love them.. i mean, i know we all do, but itsa kind of weird for me.. it was the first show i watched. The first one that i actually liked and all... and I still enjoy it very much...
As most of you i prefer the earlier seasons as well, they were... i dont know the exact word for it, but it was better...

The fisrt 5 seasons for me are the best ones... i liked the girls better in the earlier seasons, it semed like they were more friends than ever, and they guys are funnier too.. I mean, Chandler at the begging and Joey.. the best! The later seasons were good but not the greateasts, I agree with stoptheqtip about the last season, TOW Ross is Fine is amazing! I love David on that episode!

And I have to say that TOW the Football, TOW Ross Finds Out and TOW The Prom Video are my favorites!! Im a Losbster for God's sake!!

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?

I nver liked the whole Joey/Rachel thing... I can understand it now, but i never liked it... it semed that it was weird to have such amazing friends as them selfs trying to pass to the next level... like i said, i can understand now, but at the time i was really mad at the criators for doing that...

Is there anything you adored obsessively, that you now wonder what the big deal was?

No.. everything that i loved obsessively i continue to love obsessively! If thats possible i think i love it more!!

Is there anything that stood out on second or third or three-hundred-and-forty-eighth viewing that you didn’t notice?

Oh yeah... every now and then i start laughing so hard of something that i thought was completly different back them, or some joke that i never quite got it and now i get it... i think it means that the show is atemporal you know?! Its not something that will go away easily... its our generation I Love Lucy or MASH...

mmm I love this thread idea :)

Well, everything I loved I still do, nothing's changed. The first 6 seasons are my favorite ones, no episode to complain about, everything was just perfect :sigh:

What I totally changed my mind about was season 3. I don't know why, but the first time I saw it, I didn't like it very much (maybe because it was in dubbed), I felt like everybody was breaking up. But the, some months ago I watched it again, and wow, it was so perfect, that now it's on my favorites list too :D
I'm also changing my mind about season 7. I didn't like it either, the first time I saw it. But now, Warner is airing it again here, and there are very good episodes and hillarious lines that I love! :sigh: It was not so bad after all ;)

Cool thread!!

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?


Well, I only have to buy 2 seasons and I've got them all, and while I'm watching them, I keep discovering things. Like eps I hadn't even seen before..I love Friends even more then when it aired. Me and my brothers, we whatch Friends every day, at least 4 eps..

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?

I didn't really like the first seasons, don't know why, maybe because there were no relationships between the friends yet.. But now that I know how everything is going to end, I love those seasons! They're really getting to know eachother on a whole other level, and I really appreciate that!

my favourite seasons are season 5 till 8..I love the way the relationships change, I mean, Monica and Chandler are getting engaged and all..It's all going kind of fast, but I like some speed :lol:

My favourite character is Ross. I love his funny faces, his high voices sometimes and his lines too..He always cracks me up!! After Ross comes Chandler. His humor rocks!! He's just so ironic, I love that! I think we kind of have the same humor..:D

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?
It's still my favourite show ever (sharing that spot with Simpsons on and off, more often than not, knocking the other one off ;)) I do kinda feel that it's not still on and I remember how sad I was when it ended but thankfully, I don't have a chance to miss it, what with Arena, my tapes and my DVDs :)

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?
Hell, no. Loved it all. Although I wasn't the Joey/Rachel relationship's biggest fan (them dating, that is).

Is there anything you adored obsessively, that you now wonder what the big deal was?
Nope, still love it all.

Is there anything that stood out on second or third or three-hundred-and-forty-eighth viewing that you didn’t notice?
Seeing as I was 13 when I first began watching the show (it came to Oz a couple years late! Though that was kinda cool because it was on twice a week for a while to catch up!), like Nora said, I got a lot more of the jokes next time around :lol:

My favourite character was Chandler, from beginning to end, idiotic moments and all, and I loved him and Monica getting together.

Well, I recently had no cable for a bit...so I got out my Friends DVDs and started watching them again! I can't get enough on some days...and certain seasons. I would have to say 2 and 3 are probably my favorite. I LOVED Monica/Richard and when Ross and Rachel FINALLY got together, and I loved Chandler falling in love with Janice...and then all the breakups, it was funny times!
Things were good in the latter seasons, but I hated the 'dumbing down' of Joey. I know that his character was never the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had some common sense, and it seemed to me in the last few seasons they wanted more comedy and had him doing really stupid things, and it was annoying to me.
I did love Monica/Chandler though. They made a great couple, and I loved them sneaking around and stuff, that was great material.

How do you feel about Friends now, two years on?
I still miss it. :(

Is there anything you hated passionately on first viewing, that you don’t think is half-bad now?
I hated the Joey/Rachel thing. Its not half bad, and I'm glad it ended the way it did with them realizing they were just friends.

Is there anything you adored obsessively, that you now wonder what the big deal was?
No. Still think its all a big deal. LOL

Is there anything that stood out on second or third or three-hundred-and-forty-eighth viewing that you didn’t notice?
That I liked Phoebe. I never considered her a favorite character, but this time around I have enjoyed her stories so much.