Bao Trung Vincent Tran
Professor Michael Clarke
November, 10, 2017
TV History
My FRIENDS
In 1994, in September during the Fall an entire generation was introduced to a new classic sitcom that would change sitcom history! Friends aired on September 22nd 1994 on NBC. Once the show aired a new generation of television viewers grew up watching the hit TV show Friends, aside from its attractive and hilarious cast, the show had many ground-breaking aspects that drew in viewers. The writers of the show were able to provide real, fresh, modern, and fun writing because of constant re-writes of jokes and use of dialogue getting people’s attention. Another component on what made the show so great was the production value! The show had very clean and perfected detailing from the decorations, to the lighting, and the camera work. But the thing that was the key to the show’s success were the historical and hilarious relatable characters on the show! That was the thing that made people watch the show over and over again. But most of all, the creation of the six relatable. Friends reached its peak of popularity in the late 1990’s, and continued to be a frequently watched sitcom into the 2000’s. NBC had a hot show in their possession for the 10 years. It was the most frequently watched show on the aired. It was a show that people watched the most after 9/11. It was a comfort show for people everywhere.
Friends was one of the first shows that actually touched on serious and ‘real life’ issues. Each episode focused on some sort of drama between the friends or drama that the friends had got into. I remember being able to watch the show and translate their problems into my own and figure out how to properly fix it. I can still watch episodes and laugh, as the situations are still relevant. With story lines like trying to find your calling in life, finding the right kind of love, falling in love with a friend, how living with a friend can tear you apart and so on; these stories are still happening to a lot of us.
Since Friends talked about real issues young adults this caused young people to form friendship groups who often live together. These friendships, which are often deep and complicated, are the basis for great comedy. Sitcoms focused on friendships also appeal to a middle-aged audience who enjoy watching the characters participate in intimate connection with friends, which they have often had to sacrifice in their own lives. Comedy TV shows celebrate individual relationships within a complex group of people rather than just a one on one friendship. These friendships create differing types of social problems within the group because of their complicated nature. Friends helped change the face of television. A series with six twenty-somethings’ as the main characters, intensified an already growing interest in attracting a younger demographic.
Friends was a show about six people, both men and women, who live together and basically shows people what it means to be friends. In every episode of this show, important lessons are taught to worldwide viewers that are interested in learning these lessons. This show is so immense in valued lesson, whom everyone can benefit from, attracts me to constantly watch this show, explains how I am so attracted to this show, and lets me escape the world of wicked friendships everywhere. Attraction is the perfect word that describes me towards this show and how I constantly watch the show Friends every day. Since, the show has heaps of informative lessons that people can apply to make their everyday life better, I continue to watch. This attraction I have for this show is so deep in through and value, provided that I am able to stay focused on the entire show. Each day as I watch this show, learning every lesson they throw at me, and swallowing it up into my brain never forgetting it. The desire for me to learn from this show is quite intense and astonishing it is like going to school every day and acquiring the knowledge I need to know. Even though, this show proves to be brain food that I need daily, seeing the show in one thing, but going deeper than just the show itself. I mean seriously listening to what the actors say and how they perform in the show tells someone loads of vital information. So, this show attracts me in a highly urgent way in asserting significant lessons that should be learned. When I first started to watch.