What is up with our ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’?

“Welcome to the real world. It sucks, you are gonna love it.” Did you hear someone’s voice in your head while reading the above line? Yes, we did too while writing it. How can we ever forget the epic dialogue from our sweet, little Monica. You know the show is going to be fantastic when the theme song gives you the ultimate reality check.

“So no one told you life is gonna be this way, your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA”

And then picks up in its arms with

“when it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, your year, but,                                            I will be there for you” 

And sure they did. And has been doing the good deed for the last 25 years and counting.

The 90s TV hit sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S, no doubt, has won millions of heart all these years, and there are several reasons why, but one dominant reason is that the 10 seasons long series is much ahead of its time, and even the present generation can’t help but relate to it. Fun fact, if you ever feel lonely, these six will come and give you a warm hug, no matter who you are and where are you from and had been a proven fact.

What is it all about?

Frontline by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, playing the roles of Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, and Ross, respectively. They once said, “this show gave us the best 10 years of our career and our lives“. The pal team, consisting of adults, in their late 20s and early 30s, live in the busy and posh area of Manhatten, as they indulge in adventures which make their lives both troublesome and happening, and damn, they do such hard adulting. Unexpected surprises endowed by life come their way every now and then.

Why is the show so popular?

The show gets realistic with every episode, and they manifest the real issues of typical middle-class life, not even sugar-coating for once. And they make us realize that even adults do not have answers to every problem and one should once in a while stop trying so hard and sit back and relax, taking inspiration from Joey and Chandler’s funny comfy chair scenes.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S gives us the much-needed 90s American flavor with sprinkles of the early 2000s, addressing a lot of necessary issues and topics, giving us such life goals. The pilot episode started with the grumpy Ross, whining over the fact that his wife came out to be a lesbian and left him for another woman, whereas, Rachel rushing into Central Perk, dumping his would-be-husband at the alter; homosexuality and independence, just enough to start the wonderful journey. Ross accepted his ex-wife’s sexuality and supported her when her own family didn’t and walked her down the aisle on her “the-day” with her new lover. Rachel abandoned the comfort life of marriage and went on to live on her own in the city that never sleeps.  From depending on her rich dad’s money to earning her own cash by taking up several jobs, she grew up slowly and steadily.

Monica struggled with her obesity and body shaming all through her childhood and adolescence and kept herself together in the unsupportive, toxic family, following her passion eventually, dodging the rude comments from her mother. Joey showed us that the glamour industry is not very much glossy and gives you tough times and lemons. A high money-yielding job cannot always give you happiness and that’s what Chandler taught us all throughout the show. And how can we forget Phoebe and her storytelling about her dark past? Even though we laughed at her stories, but we do know that isn’t laughable at all. She is the epitome of positiveness and optimism and one should always look forward to better days.

Facts!

It seems like Matt was truly a struggling actor- he only had $11 in his pocket when he went auditioning for the show. Do you know that Courteney was asked for the role of Rachel? She refused because she felt like she can see herself in the character of Monica, a cleaning freak. Lisa took up the struggle of learning a few guitar chords for her infamous acts of the cafe gigs.

The chemistry of Ross and Rachel wouldn’t have been possible if the director didn’t see the spark between David and Jennifer. Can we take one moment and bow down to the person responsible for this?

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Do you remember Mike or should we say Crap Bag? Paul Rudd’s role was supposed to be dissolved but the fans demanded to keep him on the show and continue. Have you ever got the chance to witness the last episode in New York City? If you have, consider yourself lucky. By the end of the show, “The Last One” was broadcasted at the famous Times Square, with the largest engagement ever. This show has seriously cast a spell on the whole world.

What is up with them?

It seems like the old times are back. They still love to hang out with each other. The cast members are trying their hands-on social media and getting used to the technology. But can we appreciate the posts uploaded by Mr.Perry, keeping his gram game strong? The Chandler in him is still alive and so his jokes.

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2019 was a lucky year since the whole world celebrated the 25th anniversary of the evergreen sitcom. Social media flooded with posts and gratitude for the cast members, scriptwriters, directors, producers, and every single person attached to the greatness. But little did we know that they are coming back with their reunion in 2020. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the reunion got postponed. Could it be any more depressing?

One fan said “F.R.I.E.N.D.S is the best sitcom ever and I don’t think any other sitcom can be made as great, amazing, fantastic, funny, emotional as this. It really is a roller-coaster with a cliffhanger in the last episode of every season. I love all of them. I am not sure who’s my favorite. They are all so perfect.”

All in all, if these magical characters were prophets, we would have been learning a lot from them.

Eat like Joey. 

Dress like Rachel.

Clean like Monica. 

Live like Phoebe. 

Care like Ross. 

Laugh like Chandler.

Should we start calling them the millennials’ prophets? It’s high time we should.