Friends, continued

I've been sitting on this post for a couple of days now. When I first set out to write an entry about this show, I wanted it to be perfect. It had to capture exactly what it meant to me, and why I so badly wanted you all to watch it as well. If you scroll down you saw the first attempt at such a post. I couldn't put it into words. There was no way I could get my point across. So here is my best shot - please keep in mind that the show has so much more.

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"Friends" is such a boring name for a TV program. It works as a title to a situational comedy, I suppose. Six friends living together in New York City, having various adventures. There have been shows based on much less. But to say that's all "Friends" is about is nothing short of neglectful. The show is, plain and simple, a story that defines its name.

The theme song lets you know right away. "Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A. It's like you're always stuck in second gear, when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. I'll be there for you, 'cause you're there for me too." Life is not easy, and no one pretends that it is. Poor, humiliating jobs are common among the characters. Nothing comes easy. Indeed, "No one told you life was gonna be this way."

Characters come from different backgrounds. Their upbringings vary, ranging from spoiled princess to homeless child. They are real people. They have real flaws, just like anyone else. But as you get to know them, those flaws don't seem like such a big deal. They are all good people, who are looking to have a good time and share a few laughs.

And you will laugh with them. "Friends" is of course a highly amusing show. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's quite amazing when you consider it. The show starting airing in 1994, when I was 3 years old. And yet I laugh easily at its jokes. I identify so strongly with its characters. Some of the cultural references will go over my head and more often than not I will cringe at what the characters are wearing, but it's all so clearly worth it.

The only regrettable aspect of the show was that it had to end. To see the characters that had been developed over ten years walk off into the sunset was a touching and heartbreaking moment. Because over the course of 200 episodes, they seemed real. The progress they had made, both individually and as a group, was moving. The idea that I would never see them again was difficult to cope with.

So I invite you to meet Ross, Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe. Laugh with them, learn with them, and grow with them. Watch as they set out and prove that when nothing seems to go your way and everyone seems to be letting you down, the people who are left are what you call "Friends."