I rewatched the whole 10 seasons (Missing a few episodes here and there, and taking a good time to do it) on Netflix a few months ago. It was a sort of test to see how well it would hold up for myself, as I remember watching it all about 10-12 years ago and liking it. However, this time it didn't work out that well for me. Yes, there were a few episodes here and there that were still decent, fairly funny and entertaining... But often it felt old and decrepit.
It is obviously a product of the early-mid 90s, which sometimes can be seen clearly in the attitudes of the characters. For example, the not-so-subtle homophobic opinions of Ross. The thing is that it somehow moved into the mid 00's without changing much at all... Maybe in the 90s it felt fairly revolutionary to have an openly lesbian (secondary) character in a (very white and very safe) sitcom... But as the series advanced and we got into the 2000s, the characters attitudes didn't change that much even if society outside the TV show was moving towards more open positions regarding homosexuality. But that's usual in long running sitcoms, where characters become two dimensional parodies of their early selves. Is Joey funny because he's sort of simple, and a food and sex addicted person? Let's keep him that way and never make him change.
By the way, Ross was the character that ended up being the worst for me in this run. He felt like a very self centered person, borderline narcissistic... What's the big deal if people are having sex in front of your book in a library? Oh, it is definitely a big deal for Ross "I'm a palaeontologist" Geller. Rachel is also pretty self centered too, but she comes from a very privileged background and ends up doing something for herself in the end. In my opinion, the characters that came out the best at the end were Joey and Phoebe. Yeah, they were fairly dysfunctional examples of human beings, but they felt like the most honest of the bunch.
You know what else I found interesting about 'Friends' that reinforced the idea of it being a very 'safe' sitcom? As the show progressed and we reached the final season, all of the characters sort of end up being 'where they should be' and getting 'what they should get' according to some widely accepted societal expectactions... Ross and Rachel are together with a child (Ben, the boy raised by two lesbians, sort of disappeared from the scene), Phoebe marries some guy, Chandler and Monica are together and adopt two babies... Joey, well, he's like the sixth wheel and I guess was left free to do that other sitcom. They all expect to get big weddings, baby showers, hen dos... They all just settle down in a sort of middle class, middle age, average (white) American life. Not one of them decides to live in a way that is actually different, out of the usual, somewhat transgressive... And, no, having a wedding on the street because it's snowing a lot is not that crazy. I'm sure Phoebe was just a somewhat eccentric soccer mum a few years later.
