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An analysis of Friends — Transcript

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0:00Friends has had an incredibly odd
0:02cultural history. It was one of the
0:04biggest shows of the '90s and early
0:052000s, and in spite of a sliding
0:08critical and audience acclaim, it pretty
0:10much retained the exact same level of
0:12massive success from beginning to end.
0:14The show was missed for a while after it
0:16ended until around 5 years later when
0:18popular opinion of it started to trend
0:20inexplicably downwards. It began to be
0:23perceived as the personification of
0:24cheesy '90s vapidity, presumably by
0:27people who didn't stop to realize that
0:28that was kind of the point. Friends was
0:31very much aware of what it was doing,
0:33but a lot of that probably came from the
0:35fact that repeats were being played on
0:36endless rotation, and it became seen as
0:39the type of show that people without
0:40jobs would mindlessly binge-watch all
0:42day and all night. I do think there was
0:44a degree of snobbery involved in the way
0:46Friends became seen as the sort of show
0:47that you're supposed to be actively
0:48ashamed of liking. This may seem strange
0:51now given its popularity as a nostalgic
0:53cultural artifact, but I was there. This
0:56did happen. It then vanished off general
0:58rotation for a while, and while its
0:59presence as a series of DVD box sets was
1:02still felt, and it was still a big
1:03seller, the mid-to-late '90s was the era
1:06of HBO box sets, and Friends was
1:08typically seen as a lower-brow form of
1:10binge-watching fodder than say The Wire
1:12or The Sopranos, because those are shows
1:14for clever people with massive brains
1:16who do so much more thinking than the
1:18peasants who zombie-watch something
1:19unchallenging and easygoing like a
1:21multi-camera network sitcom filmed in
1:23front of a live studio audience. It then
1:25got rediscovered by newer generations
1:27around the mid-2010s when streaming
1:29services became a thing, and it was
1:31reevaluated by said newer generations
1:33and also old generations nostalgic for
1:35it, and the recent reunion special was
1:37one of the biggest, most talked-about TV
1:39events of last year. And even now,
1:41decades later, it's still a staple of
1:43[ __ ] clickbait articles that appear
1:45on my newsfeed every day. Friends
1:48triplets who played Phoebe's brother's
1:49kids are unrecognizable 23 years later.
1:53Oh my god, really? Newborn babies look
1:56completely different as fully grown
1:58adults. Don't know about you, but my
1:59mind's blown. I expected them to look
2:01like this. I recently went on the Warner
2:04Brothers Studio backlot tour in
2:05Hollywood, where they've essentially
2:07made the sets of Friends and the
2:08costumes into a shop and cafe. It's one
2:11great big photo opportunity for fans.
2:18What's happened to Phoebe's head?
2:21It's kind of odd wandering around the
2:22sets of Friends cuz I remember so many
2:24moments from the show that hit me so
2:26hard. A tacky commercial experience like
2:29this one is ideal for the type of show
2:30that people like to think of Friends as
2:33a bright and colorful cheesy slice of
2:3490s nostalgia, but if you actually
2:36watched the show and thought about how
2:38dramatic some of these moments are, it
2:40can feel quite odd and uncomfortable.
2:43Just look at this set here. Ross sat in
2:46that chair over there and ate candy
2:47floss after having a mental breakdown at
2:49work and being put on medication.
2:52This was the apartment where Monica and
2:53Chandler found out they couldn't have
2:54children, where Ross and Rachel broke up
2:57after he had sex with another woman.
3:01Hey, why not buy a Central Perk mug?
3:04Anyway, so what I've decided to do since
3:06I know this show like the back of my
3:07hand is I'm going to go over the story
3:09arcs, character arcs, and development of
3:11the show over the course of its 10
3:12seasons and offer some thoughts and
3:14opinions that are strangely hard to form
3:16about this show because it's difficult
3:18to think critically about an experience
3:20as relaxing as Friends. It's a warm,
3:22nice, and soft experience for the warm,
3:25nice, and soft goop inside of your
3:26skull. And I wanted to highlight how
3:28strange that is because there is a dark
3:30edge underpinning it for pretty much the
3:32entire time that should be obvious, but
3:35it's obscured by the nature of the
3:37format. So, let's begin.
3:46Sitcom pilots rarely, if ever, end up
3:48becoming a series favorite. They're
3:50early test runs designed to see if this
3:52works and if all the characters gelled
3:54together. And the thing about Friends is
3:55that it's hideously popular and has a
3:57massive roster of standout episodes. And
3:59the audience develops such an intimate
4:01relationship with these characters over
4:02the course of the series, almost to a
4:04point where you can imagine as if they
4:05your own friends. So it can feel really
4:08bizarre for fans re-watching the pilot
4:10and trying to remember a time when you
4:11didn't know these people all that well.
4:13It's like trying to remember a time
4:15before you met your best friend. You
4:17can't, can't you? The pilot is a very
4:19bare-bones demonstration of our
4:20characters' quirks. And you can see the
4:22seeds of where all the exaggeration of
4:24those quirks came from in later years.
4:27There is more of a sense of
4:28down-to-earth realism going on in the
4:29pilot that's much more reflective of the
4:31original and less commercial title that
4:34the creators first considered for the
4:35show, Insomnia Cafe. Which Friends just
4:39would not have become as popular as it
4:40was if it was called Insomnia Cafe. That
4:42title change was a really good idea.
4:45Friends, simple, effective. In the pilot
4:47they're more vague sketches of
4:48characters rather than defined pictures.
4:51Joey, for example, is just an
4:52ever-so-slightly dim actor rather than
4:55the barely functional man-child that we
4:57know he is. Chandler's jokes and sarcasm
4:59as a reflex action is pretty much his
5:01only role. There's only some sense of
5:03his deep dissatisfaction with life, but
5:05he hasn't got his third dimension yet.
5:07Ross is at the extreme end of one of his
5:09defining characteristics. He's mopey,
5:11whiny, and self-pitying. There isn't
5:13really any hint of the smug intellectual
5:15superiority that you see in later
5:16seasons. Although a lot of that comes
5:18from this being set directly off the
5:20back of his divorce from Carol. You can
5:22kind of see Monica as the mom of the
5:24group, but the pilot's focus is more on
5:25her love life being pathetic than any of
5:27the traits that will come to define her.
5:29There's no sense of her competitive
5:30nature and there's none of her being an
5:32obsessive clean freak. Phoebe's the only
5:34one who really comes fully formed. She's
5:36the character that says weird and out of
5:38left field things that makes everyone
5:39feel uncomfortable.
5:41I remember when I first came to this
5:42city, I was 14. My mom had just killed
5:45herself and my stepdad was back in
5:46prison.
5:47Then, I found aromatherapy. So, believe
5:49me, I know exactly how YOU FEEL.
5:53ALL THAT being said, I do think the
5:54pilot does an excellent job of
5:56establishing the core of who these
5:57characters are, what drives them, and
5:59setting the stage for potential future
6:01developments, even if it is quite
6:03milk-toast by future Friends standards.
6:05It's very much a Rachel-centered
6:07episode. She starts out as the outsider,
6:09which is the mechanism that the writers
6:11have used to be able to introduce
6:12everyone organically. Rachel basically
6:15starts the series as a completely
6:16different character to the one she ends
6:17up being. She's a spoiled, ditzy fish
6:20out of water who's just run out on her
6:21wedding to a man who would have given
6:23her an easy life, and she's trying to
6:25figure out who she is, what she wants,
6:27and who she wants to be with. A lot has
6:30been made by the creators of Friends of
6:31the show being a true ensemble piece
6:33where no one character is more important
6:35than any other, but I'm not really sure
6:37I agree with that assessment in terms of
6:39what made Friends the cultural behemoth
6:41that it was, and it became this pretty
6:42much overnight. The show built its
6:45initial emotional hook around a very
6:47basic unrequited romance. This is the
6:49type of story that far too many people
6:51can relate to, and one that can be
6:53dragged out incessantly as the audience
6:54sits on the edge of their seat waiting
6:56for something to happen. The obvious
6:58successor to Ross and Rachel is Jim and
6:59Pam from The Office. Even if Jim and Pam
7:02ends up being a very different scenario,
7:04the initial hook is the same. Yes, it is
7:06obvious and expected, I do agree people
7:08who [ __ ] about this, but the problem is
7:10it just works. If you want to be
7:12successful, do some sort of BC
7:15unrequited romance. While yes, it is
7:17true that all six of the Friends had
7:19equal screen time across the series and
7:20equal amounts of interesting character
7:22arcs, well, almost. In the early days
7:25specifically, the Ross-Rachel
7:27will-they-won't-they storyline was what
7:29anchored the series. So, it only makes
7:31sense for me to start there.
7:42Even if you're only vaguely familiar
7:43with Friends, you probably know all the
7:45ins and outs of Ross and Rachel by way
7:47of cultural osmosis. He was infatuated
7:50by her in his school days, never said
7:52anything, ends up in a marriage that
7:53doesn't work out, gets divorced, then he
7:56runs into her again. He mentions maybe
7:58asking her out sometime, she doesn't
8:00really take it all that seriously, and
8:02then we're all sat on the edge of our
8:03seats waiting for him to act on his
8:05feelings. It's a simple but really
8:07effective means of baiting your
8:09audience. And once you've hooked the
8:11audience in with a simple but effective
8:12arc like that and made sure they're
8:14going to stay watching, you can use that
8:16time to start fleshing out the other
8:18characters. The only problem though is
8:20how long can you reasonably stretch this
8:23out for? You can't have everyone sitting
8:25on the edge of their seats waiting for
8:26something to happen forever. Something
8:28was going to have to happen sooner or
8:30later, and the obvious place to put that
8:32something was in the series one finale,
8:34where Rachel finds out that beyond
8:36telling her about his childhood crush at
8:37the start of the series, Ross is
8:39actually desperately in love with her
8:41right now. You have the audience
8:43watching Ross get closer and closer to
8:45Rachel and going, "Go on, do something.
8:47Do something." For a year, and then in
8:49season two, they reverse it for the
8:51first quarter. Because when Rachel finds
8:54out, that's when Ross starts to move on
8:56with his life with someone new. And now
8:58Rachel is the one who's secretly
8:59harboring feelings for Ross. Although
9:01rather than this being a desperate
9:03attempt to invert a formula that was
9:04massively successful the first time
9:06round, they don't stretch this one out
9:08for an entire year like before, and they
9:09throw a massive curveball at you in The
9:12One With the List, where Ross and Rachel
9:14look like they're finally about to get
9:16together, but then Ross does something
9:19really stupid, and that pushes Rachel
9:21into rejecting him. Okay, we'll make a
9:23list. Rachel and Julie, pros and cons.
9:26Ross, what is this?
9:27Thank you. Good luck.
9:31Just a waitress? I do not have chubby
9:35ankles.
9:37This arc in season 2 is where Rachel
9:39becomes the character that she was
9:40always supposed to be. She was the
9:42character that took the longest time to
9:43bed in because unlike the other friends,
9:46she was in the process of completely
9:47reinventing herself when she was first
9:49introduced. The point of her in season 1
9:52was to be hopelessly innocent and naive
9:54and have the five friends enlighten her
9:56as to what life outside her spoiled rich
9:58girl bubble was really like. I'm going
10:00to go get one of those
10:02job things.
10:04That was what drove a lot of the plots
10:06in season 1, but the difference between
10:07Rachel and the rest of the group was
10:09that she didn't have a whole lot of
10:11agency. You're watching her just drift
10:13through life and into an obvious failure
10:15of a relationship with Paolo in a
10:17slightly different way that she had been
10:18drifting through life before when she'd
10:20ended up engaged to Barry. She even
10:22drifts back into having an affair with
10:24Barry behind her ex-best friend's back.
10:26In season 1, she kept having all these
10:28setbacks in growing up and becoming the
10:30person that she always wanted to be. And
10:32this experience with Ross in the one
10:33with the list meant that she finally had
10:35something to be angry about. When Rachel
10:38finds her anger, that's counterbalanced
10:40by her naivety and lack of experience in
10:43the real world, which is what finally
10:45turned her into a funny character. Ha ha
10:48ha, hey, that's funny. You're a funny
10:51Chandler. You're a funny guy. You know
10:53what else is really funny? Weren't you
10:55the guy that told me to quit my job when
10:57I had absolutely nothing ELSE TO DO?
11:03OF COURSE NOW, THE AUDIENCE is waiting
11:06on the edge of their seats to see if
11:07they patch things up and eventually will
11:09get together, which again can only last
11:11for so long. And after a few episodes,
11:14Rachel sees just how much Ross cared
11:16about her in the one with the prom
11:17video, and they finally get together
11:19properly. This lasts for pretty much an
11:21entire year, but you just know
11:23something's going to split them up again
11:25because of the awkward toing and froing
11:27that's been going on over the course of
11:28this arc. It would have been really easy
11:30to have Rachel find out it wasn't just a
11:33childhood crush and Ross is head over
11:34heels in love with her at the end of
11:35season 1 and have them get together, but
11:38instead season 2 is a messy and
11:40complicated process of them almost but
11:42not quite getting together and then they
11:45finally do it. The reason it finds all
11:47these excuses to have them not get
11:48together of course is partly because we
11:50need a reason for people to stay
11:52watching and we have 24 weeks of
11:53programming to fill, but this was also
11:55beneficial for not just extending the
11:57lifespan of the fact that it was driving
11:58people to watch Friends in their droves
12:00in the first place, but also for the
12:02sake of realism. People make a huge deal
12:05of Friends being warm and fuzzy and
12:07nice, but if you actually pay attention,
12:09it really isn't because it doesn't shy
12:11away from showing just how messy and
12:13complicated love can be. The show isn't
12:16just Ross and Rachel getting together
12:18and making love in the museum. This
12:20romantic moment comes at the cost of
12:22Ross having really hurt Rachel's
12:23feelings quite badly. And I love the
12:26fact that these moments of tragedy can
12:28be punctuated by some of the sharpest
12:30comedy writing that somehow manages to
12:32not upset the flow of drama at all. We
12:35just got in the car from Rachel and she
12:38told us what Ross did. It's pretty
12:40appalling and Ross, if you're listening,
12:42I don't want to play your song anymore.
12:45Sitcoms typically get referred to as
12:47comfort food TV. They're nice,
12:49unchallenging and easygoing and Friends
12:52is that yes, but unlike lots of sitcoms,
12:54it's not always about everything working
12:57out and there being no consequences for
12:58anyone's actions. It's comforting for
13:00the exact opposite reasons that a sitcom
13:03is stereotypically meant to be
13:04comforting. A sitcom is supposed to have
13:06a status quo that will be maintained in
13:08some way. There will be dramatic twists
13:10and turns, but typically everything will
13:12look exactly as it was at the start of
13:14the next episode, but Friends wasn't
13:17like that at all. When characters broke
13:19up, things stayed broken for long
13:21periods of time and these events had
13:23major impacts on their lives and we had
13:25to watch them be miserable as they try
13:27to recover. The idealistic theory of TV
13:30comedy and drama is that people always
13:31need a happy ending because life sucks
13:33and people want to escape from that, but
13:35that isn't always the case. Friends
13:38doing the opposite of that was what was
13:40comforting because in the real world we
13:42have to go through heartbreak, too. And
13:44watching our favorite characters having
13:45to deal with their own heartbreak and
13:47managing to get through it and still
13:48make us laugh in spite of personal
13:50tragedy was what was uplifting, which is
13:53obviously what leads me on to
14:03So, let's talk about they were on a
14:05break, the infamous arc that lasts from
14:08mid-season 3 all the way up until season
14:104. Basically, by the start of series 3
14:13everything looks too perfect for Ross
14:15and Rachel. Yes, sitcoms are comfort
14:17food TV, but Friends never wanted you to
14:19be too comfortable. So, they slowly
14:21start to introduce cracks into their
14:23relationship. Ross gets insanely jealous
14:26when Rachel makes friends with the man
14:27at her new job. Now that Rachel's quit
14:30her job at the coffee house and she's in
14:31fashion, an industry she's interested
14:33in, and is finally finding her own
14:35career path, he feels like he's losing
14:37her. Ross's paranoid and obsessive
14:39nature gets the better of him. And then
14:41they made the unthinkable happen. Ross
14:44cheats on Rachel.
14:46Or does he? Yes, he does. No, he
14:49doesn't. Okay, whether Ross did or
14:51didn't cheat on Rachel isn't really a
14:53conversation I'm interested in having.
14:55What I find more interesting about the
14:57take-a-break storyline is the
14:58construction of it and the reason the
15:00creators had no choice but to do it like
15:02this. By finding these messy and
15:04complicated reasons for Ross and
15:06Rachel's toing and froing over the
15:07course of season 2, they'd not only
15:09found a way of extending the life of the
15:11arc that was making Friends compulsive
15:13viewing for people, they'd also
15:15constructed an interesting and realistic
15:17relationship dynamic that gave Friends
15:19the edge in the sitcom market. It made
15:21it clear that it wasn't safe and easy
15:23and predictable. But, by doing this,
15:25what they'd also done, and this is where
15:27they kind of shot themselves in the foot
15:28a little bit, was they proved that Ross
15:30and Rachel were just bad for each other.
15:34Like, really, really bad for each other.
15:37They had serious communication and trust
15:39issues, and neither of them respected
15:41the others careers. He didn't respect
15:43fashion, and she didn't respect
15:45dinosaurs. Remember that thing that's
15:47been dead for a gazillion years? Well,
15:49here's a little bone we didn't know it
15:51had. A hundred million people went to
15:54see a movie about what I do. I wonder
15:56how many people would go see a movie
15:58called Jurassic Parka.
16:00Oh.
16:02So, yeah, they needed to break up. They
16:04didn't make sense together. The story of
16:06how the science geek ends up with the
16:07homecoming queen is a classic tale for
16:09dumb romantic comedies, but Friends
16:11shows you what it would actually be like
16:14if the science geek ended up with the
16:15homecoming queen. The audience might
16:17think a story like this is vindication
16:19for the underdog, but love isn't
16:21supposed to be about vindication. If
16:23this happened in real life, you would
16:25get an extreme personality clash. The
16:27take a break story line was a point of
16:29escalation and was ultimately really
16:31good for the series. As I said earlier,
16:33they could have just gotten together
16:34when Rachel found out at the end of
16:35season 1, but where's the drama in that?
16:38And what would happen next? They get
16:40together, they get married, have kids.
16:42Where's the show supposed to go from
16:44there? It's a show about six friends and
16:45their lives and loves, and you give two
16:47of them a happily ever after right at
16:49season 2? That wouldn't work at all. So,
16:51what else are you meant to do? So, Ross
16:53and Rachel had to break up in season 3.
16:56It was completely inevitable, and there
16:57had to be a high-stakes dramatic reason
17:00for them to do it. And cheating was the
17:02obvious one. But, the reason for giving
17:04a moral gray area to what Ross did was
17:06to make it so it's still okay to like
17:08Ross afterwards. They couldn't just have
17:10him out and out cheat, because then it
17:12would quite blatantly all be Ross's
17:14fault, and you would just look at him
17:16differently if he just cheated and that
17:18was all they gave you. He's not Joey.
17:20The point of Ross is that he's a lovable
17:22pathetic loser. Though yes, I do agree
17:24that a lot of his actions across the
17:25series are toxic. We'll get on to that
17:28later. But cheating is a line that you
17:30shouldn't really have this character
17:31cross because it goes against his nature
17:33and goes against his purpose. And the
17:35reason I think this is genius is they
17:37found a way of giving us a moral gray
17:39area that doesn't make us look at Ross
17:41any differently, gave them a viable
17:43reason to break up, and gave the
17:45audience something to talk about around
17:47water coolers, which was the point of
17:49making the Ross-Rachel arc so tumultuous
17:51in the first place.
17:53What's so interesting about Ross and
17:54Rachel's relationship is the fact that
17:56sitcoms are typically so averse to
17:58change. The rule is that everything
18:00always looks exactly as it was at the
18:02start of the next episode. And if two
18:04characters get together, that's usually
18:06it. They're together now and that's the
18:08new status quo. And given Ross and
18:10Rachel were the big '90s TV romance,
18:13changing the dynamic in such a dramatic
18:15way was a real shock to people. Sitcoms
18:17are meant to be comforting and
18:18unchallenging. They don't usually do
18:20things like this. I know a lot of people
18:22can't stand The One with the Morning
18:24After, but it was a complete
18:25game-changer. And it's one of the most
18:27fascinating episodes of a sitcom I've
18:29ever watched because it's so
18:31uncomfortable. And because it's so
18:33unexpected, everyone thinks
18:35Wait, that can't be it, can it? And they
18:37just dropped this in everyone's laps in
18:39the middle of the series.
18:42This can't be it. Oh.
18:47Then how come it is?
18:52And so that's when the will they or
18:54won't they hook returned. Even though
18:56we've just demonstrated precisely why
18:58they're bad for each other, everyone was
19:00expecting something to happen again
19:02because it's Ross and Rachel. And then
19:04oh my god, it looks like it's about to
19:06happen again with The One with the Beach
19:07and The One with the Jellyfish.
19:10But then Rachel gives Ross a letter
19:13that's too long for him to read late
19:14into the night, and she makes him agree
19:16to accept that they weren't on a break
19:18and to own up to everything without
19:19realizing that that was what he was
19:21agreeing to.
19:22And it really does? It does. It really
19:26and truly does.
19:37It so DOES NOT.
19:41THE ONE WITH THE JELLYFISH is like a
19:43microcosm of the entire Ross-Rachel
19:45storyline, because there is no way this
19:47facade can be maintained, and you just
19:49know that something's going to snap, and
19:51the writing is some of the show's
19:52sharpest. But, the way you owned up to
19:55everything, it just
19:57showed me how much you've grown, you
19:59know?
20:02I suppose.
20:04I just wish we hadn't lost those 4
20:06months.
20:08But, if time was what you needed just to
20:10gain a little perspective.
20:12We were ON A BREAK.
20:16COFFEE HOUSE? And that. And that's the
20:19point where they've taken this arc as
20:20far as it could go. Will Ross and Rachel
20:22get together was the show's key selling
20:24point in the early days, but it was time
20:26to move on. The way this arc kept
20:28driving you to the edge of your seat
20:29waiting for them to either get together
20:31or to break up again was essentially the
20:33dramatic equivalent of one of the core
20:35formulas that Friends would spend most
20:37of its years working to. It was
20:38basically the relationship equivalent of
20:40a farce.
20:47So, we've got arcs for our characters.
20:49That's the main reason that people
20:50watched Friends in their droves, but all
20:52sitcoms need basic formulas that are
20:54going to keep people entertained while
20:55those arcs play out. And Friends had a
20:57few simple types of stories that it
20:59would tell week in, week out. The most
21:01common of which was your basic farce,
21:03and they were exceptionally good at
21:05that. One of the best examples of a
21:07Friends farce is the one with the two
21:08parties from season 2, where Monica
21:11arranges a birthday party for Rachel,
21:12but she can only invite one of her
21:14parents because her parents are getting
21:16divorced. But, both her parents show up,
21:19so they have to invent convoluted
21:20reasons to have a party in each
21:22apartment happening separately and
21:23simultaneously. It's funny, clever, Rob
21:26Leadman is a force as Rachel's dad, and
21:29it has a poignant story at its core, and
21:31it does wonders for Rachel's character
21:32development. She finally realizes that
21:34her old life that she'd already made
21:36such strides in letting go of is finally
21:38gone for good. You work and you work and
21:41you work at a marriage, but all he cares
21:43about is his stupid boat.
21:45You work and you work and you work on a
21:48boat.
21:48I may have only been in therapy for 3
21:50weeks now, dear, but
21:51What the hell does she want with half a
21:52boat? And another great farce, of
21:53course, is the incredibly famous The One
21:55Where Everybody Finds Out, which, while
21:58I know I just blathered on about the
21:59Ross-Rachel storyline, this one is
22:01easily the best culmination of a Friends
22:02storyline, and it uses everything at its
22:05disposal to construct the almost but not
22:07quite falling apart of a false pretense.
22:09And I'll inevitably bring this one up
22:10again later when I get to Monica and
22:12Chandler. There's incredibly carefully
22:14constructed farces like that, and then
22:16on the opposite end of the scale, you
22:18have The One With the Sharks from season
22:209, which is one of the most baffling
22:22episodes in the entire series, and
22:24beyond that, just one of the most
22:25baffling episodes of a sitcom ever.
22:28Okay, so Monica goes to Chandler's hotel
22:30room in Tulsa to surprise him. He was
22:33watching porn and starting to masturbate
22:35when she walks in, and he panics and
22:37switches it to the nature channel. And
22:39Monica, his wife at this point in the
22:41show, let me remind you, thinks that
22:43this means that Chandler enjoys
22:45masturbating to sharks.
22:48Okay, I just got to Chandler's room,
22:50and I caught him
22:53molesting himself.
22:55He was getting off to a shark attack
22:57show.
22:59No.
22:59Yes, Chandler watch a shark porn.
23:07Somebody actually wrote that as a pitch,
23:09and everyone went, "Yep, seems legit."
23:12They actually didn't play this one on
23:13general rotation when I was
23:14binge-watching Friends on TV in the
23:16early 2000s. I had to discover it on DVD
23:19later. They either skipped it because it
23:20was too risqué for E4, which they also
23:23did with the one with the free porn, or
23:25they thought it was too dumb even for a
23:26comedy show. Another core formula, and
23:29one of Friends' best formulas, which
23:30sadly gets forgotten about in the second
23:32half of the show, is people are just
23:35[ __ ] weird.
23:38Friends' glory days are typically agreed
23:40as being between seasons 2 and 5. And
23:43during this era, stories would regularly
23:45involve guest stars who are given
23:46characters with extremely odd quirks.
23:49They first hit on how successful this
23:50would be with the one with the stoned
23:52guy in season 1, where Monica is doing a
23:54trial dinner for a job at this guy's
23:56restaurant. Said guy, played by Jon
23:58Lovitz, shows up stoned, and he ends up
24:01saying and doing lots of outrageous to
24:03prod entertaining reactions out of
24:04Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe.
24:06Oh, COOL. TACO SHELLS.
24:10YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THEY'RE LIKE A
24:11LITTLE corn eye envelope, you know?
24:14If you talk to anyone who spent a decent
24:15amount of time in New York City, they'll
24:17usually tell you it's a weird place
24:19where you run into strange people with
24:20odd quirks who feel like they couldn't
24:23possibly exist, and yet they do. You
24:26wouldn't believe, for example, that
24:27Brooke Shields' guest character in the
24:28one after the Super Bowl could actually
24:30believe that Joey genuinely is the
24:33character he plays on the medical soap
24:35opera Days of Our Lives. But such a
24:37ridiculous premise is played with a
24:38straight face, and it's the type of
24:40awkward humor that I just love in this
24:42show. Here we sit, devil-may-care, and
24:45just a little while ago you were
24:47reattaching Simone's spinal cord. That
24:49operation takes like over 10 hours, but
24:52they only showed it for 2 minutes.
24:55Okay.
24:58No one.
25:00I love this formula so much because it's
25:01almost psychological. It plays on the
25:04audience's fears about what you might
25:06uncover about someone if you get too
25:08close to them. One of the friends will
25:09become infatuated with someone like
25:11Rachel does with Danny in the one with
25:13the Yeti. She'll get closer and closer
25:15to him until finally they get together
25:17and that's when she discovers that he
25:19has an incredibly uncomfortable and
25:20inappropriate relationship with his
25:22sister.
25:23So when you when you put it that way,
25:25you know, "Hey Danny, hurry up. The
25:27bath's getting cold."
25:30One of the best iterations of this
25:32formula was this arc in season 2 where
25:34Joey moves out and Chandler gets a new
25:36roommate called Eddie. It feels
25:38uncomfortable at first because they've
25:39upset the natural order of things across
25:41multiple episodes. As mentioned, Friends
25:44would try and subvert audience
25:45expectations like this all the time and
25:48they try and make it look like this is
25:49the new status quo. Chandler now lives
25:51with Eddie and that's just how it is
25:53until it gets revealed that there's
25:54something not quite right about him.
26:01Hey Eddie.
26:04Just watching you sleep.
26:07Why?
26:08Makes me feel I'm
26:10peaceful.
26:11And Chandler's just invited this guy to
26:13live with him in his home. This arc was
26:16almost like a Friends horror movie. The
26:18guests did kind of stop being standouts
26:20as the years wore on. They did still
26:22have big celebrity guest stars of course
26:24like Rachel's sisters and of course Brad
26:26Pitt in one of the most massively
26:28overrated episodes of any television
26:30show ever. Seriously, the one with the
26:32rumor is beyond terrible. It has one
26:34joke in it. Brad Pitt's character used
26:36to be fat. Ha ha ha, it is a funny joke
26:39because Brad Pitt is known for being one
26:41of the most attractive men in Hollywood
26:43and it makes this joke again and again
26:45and again and also transphobia. However,
26:48the formula of odd quirky character
26:50forces everyone into entertaining
26:51reactions didn't exactly die though,
26:53because the show did have two main
26:55characters who essentially filled this
26:57role and who were the uncomfortable
26:58exaggerated comic foibles to all the
27:00other friends. Joey and Phoebe were
27:02there to say and do things to make
27:04everyone else's lives hell. They're like
27:06if these odd, quirky, and uncomfortable
27:07people infiltrated the core group. And
27:10since this gives me the opportunity to
27:11wax lyrical about Phoebe, I'm going to
27:13do that.
27:18Phoebe Buffay is one of the greatest
27:20comedy characters ever written.
27:21Seriously, she's up there with Alan
27:23Partridge, Malcolm Tucker, and Basil
27:24Fawlty for me. She starts out as simply
27:26a character with no social awareness and
27:28whose unconventional view of the world
27:29can be milked for laughs. But the point
27:31where Phoebe really starts working for
27:33me is where they started expanding on
27:35the sort of things that a character like
27:36this with no social filter and no sense
27:38of shame can get away with saying. A lot
27:41of Friends stories are farces that
27:42involve characters trying to hold
27:44everything together and failing, and
27:45Phoebe is the perfect character to have
27:47in a story like that because she just
27:49does not give a [ __ ] who she makes feel
27:51uncomfortable. Reason for leaving last
27:53job? Yeah, they thought I was a [ __ ]
27:55I'll tell you about the time I stabbed
27:57the cop.
27:58Phoebe. Well, HE STABBED ME FIRST.
28:02ACTUALLY, GIVING BIRTH TO THREE babies
28:04is not that different than giving birth
28:05to one.
28:06WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
28:08SOME LARGE PARTY'S WAITING.
28:09OH, ONE really does have a stick up
28:11one's ass, doesn't one? Yeah, because
28:12you see that was an actual problem and
28:15yours is just like, you know, a bunch
28:17of, you know, high school crap that
28:19nobody really gives a
28:21Phoebe having this gives no [ __ ]
28:22attitude is well-reasoned, too, because
28:24they gave her an incredibly tragic
28:26backstory. If someone told you they were
28:28going to write a character whose mother
28:29committed suicide and they spent years
28:31living on the street and they're going
28:33to play these things for laughs, usually
28:35you'd be staring at them open-mouthed in
28:36complete and absolute horror. But it's
28:38the blunt and offhanded way that Phoebe
28:40talks about her tragic past that's so
28:42extreme that it passes the point of
28:45extremity to a point where it's actually
28:47hilarious. I made a man with eyes of
28:50coal and a smile so bewitching.
28:55How was I supposed to know that my mom
28:58was dead in the kitchen?
29:02She's the perfect example of a character
29:04laughing in the face of adversity. This
29:06is a character who's been through a lot
29:08and seen some [ __ ] And the fact she
29:09survived and carved out a
29:11semi-successful life and career for
29:12herself and doesn't let it bother her
29:14just leaves you with a smile on your
29:16face. I need to write some depressing
29:18stuff to go with my new bluesy voice,
29:20but nothing that sad has ever really
29:22happened to me. Well, um how about your
29:23mom dying?
29:25Uh-huh.
29:27Oh, yeah. I forgot about the time my
29:29hair did that woohoo thing.
29:32Phoebe was a character that was so off
29:34the leash that there were basically no
29:36rules to her. Friends was too ridiculous
29:39sometimes, like with the sharks episode
29:40I mentioned earlier, but Phoebe was a
29:42character who could basically say
29:44anything and you'd buy it. It was
29:45surreal having a bunch of characters who
29:47seemingly lived in the real world, but
29:49then there's this one with no rules
29:50whatsoever who's just there in their
29:52orbit. One of the most ingenious moments
29:55in the entire show for me was this one
29:57where Phoebe's grandma died, and this is
29:59what her funeral was like. Thank you so
30:01much for coming. But okay, here's your
30:04M3D glasses.
30:08And Reverend Pong will tell you when to
30:09put them on.
30:11Let's go say goodbye.
30:18I think what I love about Phoebe so much
30:19is that she bolsters this darker edge
30:21that Friends always had about it. She
30:24was always just a bit too real for
30:25everyone. She even led to this one
30:27incredibly strange dark fan theory that
30:30the entire show is a result of Phoebe's
30:32meth-addled imagination as a homeless
30:34drug addict looking through the window
30:36of Central Perk and imagining a
30:37successful life and a group of friends
30:39for herself.
30:40Which would kind of make sense. She is
30:42the outsider of the group, lives further
30:44away than the others, and doesn't slot
30:46into the backstory as easily. Although
30:48personally I think this theory is a bit
30:50too far. I do like the dark edge of
30:52Friends, but there's got to be something
30:53hopeful to counterbalance it. And the
30:55idea that someone with a dark past like
30:57Phoebe can find somewhere she belongs is
30:59one of the more uplifting elements of
31:01the series. They tried to change their
31:03approach to Phoebe towards the end of
31:04the show where they gave her a boyfriend
31:06in Mike, who would now be the straight
31:08man to her eccentric cook. And this
31:10didn't work nearly as well as it did
31:11with the five friends who don't have the
31:13extra factor of romantic involvement.
31:15Phoebe and Mike did work occasionally in
31:17episodes like the one with Phoebe's
31:19rats, where she insists that they take
31:20care of the babies of a rat that got
31:22caught in a trap in their kitchen. But
31:24the whole Mike storyline was an attempt
31:26to wind us towards an acceptable
31:27conclusion for Phoebe. Phoebe came from
31:29her mother's suicide and a broken home,
31:31went through some difficult
31:32relationships and a career path that
31:34wasn't always smooth towards this happy
31:36ending with a guy she loved. And that's
31:38nice, sure, but it kind of sacrifices
31:40her quirks to get there. The other five
31:43friends would rein in her quirks over
31:44the series, but found she just didn't
31:46give a [ __ ] which was what was funny.
31:48But the factor of a stable relationship
31:49at long last gave Phoebe more of a
31:51reason to listen to Mike when he says
31:53things like they should give up the box
31:55of rats. Paul Rudd has said he felt like
31:57more of a prop in Friends than an actual
31:59character, and I have to agree with him
32:01there. Mike was used as a tool to work
32:03our way towards Phoebe growing up and
32:05getting a happy ending, which makes
32:07sense, but it just never really sat
32:09right with me given just how much I
32:10adored her quirks over the course of the
32:12series. This is why I totally got it
32:15when Lisa Kudrow made that case against
32:17doing one more episode of Friends in the
32:18reunion special last year, because her
32:20character did totally change as the show
32:23drew to a close and she got her happy
32:25ending. Phoebe in the 2020s would be
32:27completely different to Phoebe in the
32:29'90s and 2000s. The approach to Phoebe
32:32over the end of the show was pretty much
32:33the exact opposite to the other a foil,
32:35ball, basically allowed to stay the same
32:37as he always was from beginning to end.
32:45Friends detractors often make the point
32:46that the characters are all terrible
32:48people, but I would personally argue
32:50that that is kind of
32:52well, it's the point. The difference
32:54between British comedy and American
32:56comedy that's often cited in media
32:57studies is that British comedy presents
32:59characters you're meant to laugh at,
33:01whereas American comedy is more about
33:03characters you're meant to laugh with.
33:05Basil Fawlty, of course, is a key
33:06example of a British comedy character
33:08who you're not supposed to respect, and
33:10you end up laughing at his misfortune.
33:13Whereas the type of kitschy US sitcoms
33:14of the '60s, '70s, and most of the '80s
33:17were more focused on well-adjusted
33:18families and the mild scrapes they got
33:20into. The rise of alternative comedy
33:22changed all that, and this idea that
33:24American sitcoms are always about
33:26laughing with the characters rather than
33:28at them, I feel is more than a little
33:30outdated. Friends was always a mix of
33:32laughing with our characters and at
33:34them, and a lot of the time we're
33:35laughing at the characters' stupid
33:37vacuous worldviews or their general lack
33:39of intelligence. We fought the Nazis in
33:41World War II, not World War I.
33:44Yeah, well, who who was in World War I?
33:50Mexico? Yes, very good.
33:53Just when I got taught that distinction
33:55between American and British comedy in
33:56media studies, I looked back at my
33:58memories of Friends, and I thought to
33:59myself, "Wait a minute, is that actually
34:01true?" Cuz I'm really not sure it is.
34:04Joey Tribbiani isn't a character you're
34:06meant to respect, but that kind of gets
34:09lost on people. Part of this was
34:11probably because the show kind of fell
34:12in love with its own character, and his
34:13stupid pathetic nature got lost in his
34:15charm. People have this stereotype of
34:18actors as airheads because they have to
34:19be really into their looks to make it in
34:21this industry, and sure some of them are
34:23like that, but most of them aren't
34:25because it's a really difficult industry
34:27to navigate efficiently, which requires
34:29some serious intelligence. And Joey was
34:31just so cartoonishly and childlike that
34:34I had a really hard time believing he'd
34:35be doing it for this long and that he
34:37was ever all that successful at it.
34:39Friends was ridiculous at times, sure,
34:42but there was a line. It's not like 30
34:44Rock with Jenna and Tracy who are
34:45entirely absurd. The main points where
34:48Joey's acting career really worked were
34:50when they had him in the kind of
34:51obviously terrible plays that you'd
34:53expect someone of his intelligence and
34:54skill set to be in.
34:56I got to say goodbye and then I got to
34:58say it quick cuz this is killing me.
35:00I will never forget you.
35:03And so
35:07I'm going to get on this spaceship.
35:12And I return
35:14200 years from now
35:16you'll be long gone.
35:19But I won't have aged at all.
35:22Joey's unsuccessful career and
35:23obliviousness to his obvious failings
35:25was one of the show's key selling
35:26points. One of the best examples of an
35:28episode of Joey's career failing was
35:30probably in this one where he loses his
35:32insurance and he gets a hernia and he
35:34has no choice but to go on a ton of
35:36auditions while he's in an extreme
35:37amount of pain.
35:39I'm uh Joey Tribbiani. I'm here to
35:41audition for man.
35:44You mean dying man.
35:47Yes.
35:48Unsuccessful actor Joey is great, but
35:50when he becomes a rich and famous soap
35:52opera actor when he's back on Days of
35:54Our Lives was a bit of a stretch for me
35:55because Joey is a man who's never really
35:57adapted to living in the real world.
36:00Phoebe worked better the more
36:01exaggerated her backstory became and the
36:03more off the leash she was allowed to
36:04be, but they were exaggerating her past
36:07whereas Joey was living in exaggerated
36:09present. There are times I felt like
36:11they got a bit carried away in making
36:12Joey more childlike than just plain
36:14stupid. Like the one with Ross's wedding
36:17in London where he's essentially doing
36:18the little kid is homesick storyline and
36:21it's funny that this story is playing
36:22out but with a grown man instead of a
36:24child. Everything's different here.
36:27I want to go home.
36:29I miss my family. I miss the coffee
36:31house. I can't even remember what Phoebe
36:33looks like. Well, yes, as I said
36:35earlier, Friends would have characters
36:36who you could barely believe existed at
36:38all, and Phoebe was kind of one of
36:40those, yeah. But, you can mostly deal
36:41with that when it's, say, an anecdote,
36:43or you see a small snippet of, say,
36:45Brooke Shields' character. Brooke
36:47Shields' character was essentially a
36:48sketch character, but if you were
36:50watching her entire life, it would be
36:53very hard to believe that a grown woman
36:54would drift through that people on
36:56television were really the characters
36:58they played. Phoebe is different because
37:01these moments of unreality, like the
37:02funeral, weren't structural. They were
37:04occasional glimpses at insanity.
37:07The most depth we got with Joey was in
37:09this season 3 storyline where he falls
37:11in love with his co-star, Kate, but she
37:13doesn't like him back. Joey was always
37:16the good-looking ladies' man who was
37:17always in control of his love life, but
37:19this arc forced him into a position of
37:21vulnerability. Those are the most
37:23interesting moments for Joey. Like when
37:25his professional life fails, this was
37:27the first time when his love life
37:29failed. I felt the show didn't really
37:31play into this contrast between his
37:33typically successful sex life and what
37:35should be his incredibly unsuccessful
37:37professional life with quite the same
37:39level of depth outside of this arc.
37:41While I'm on Joey and his position as
37:43the show's ladies' man, since the
37:44rediscovery of Friends by modern
37:46audiences, most of the Friends have come
37:48under scrutiny for some pretty toxic
37:50behavior and worldviews, and Joey is the
37:52obvious one to single out for toxic
37:54behavior. He's a dumb guy who gets laid
37:57a lot, treats women as objects, never
37:58calls them, cheats all the time, and yet
38:01he's allowed to get away with being a
38:02[ __ ] because of his charming smile
38:04and demeanor. Here's my point, though.
38:07The show does know that Joey's behavior
38:10is terrible. It's not endorsing people
38:12be like Joey. It's sending them up. Of
38:15course, when you take what Joey says at
38:17face value, it either sounds stupid,
38:19horrible, or sometimes both. Because you
38:22waited too long to make your move and
38:24now you're in the friend zone.
38:28Now, yes, I agree that this idea as
38:30taken and applied in the real world that
38:32women apparently actively put male
38:34acquaintances into non-sexual boxes
38:36rather than, you know, having their own
38:38thoughts and feelings has done a lot of
38:40damage and I would agree in calling it
38:42irresponsible. Though given this is an
38:44early season 1 episode, you can kind of
38:46say, "Well, they didn't know how much of
38:47a cultural impact Friends was going to
38:49have yet." But when you watch this clip,
38:51you've got to remember it was said by
38:52the same character that said this.
38:55Right, because if he doesn't like you,
38:56this is all a moo point. A moo point?
39:00It's like a cow's opinion.
39:03It just
39:04doesn't matter. And this.
39:07Say hello to the new champ of Chandler's
39:08dumb states game.
39:11Well, how many you got? 56.
39:14Cuz the friend zone talk is a joke. And
39:17it gets proven to be an incorrect and
39:19ludicrous hypothesis when Ross and
39:20Rachel actually get together next
39:22season. I do feel there's been a bit of
39:24selective outrage that's been going on
39:26when people have been re-evaluating
39:27Friends because is the inclusion of the
39:29friend zone talk and more of Joey's
39:31dodgy behavior really any more offensive
39:34than the screaming laughter that
39:35everyone bursts into whenever Phoebe
39:37offhandedly talks about her mother's
39:39suicide?
39:40Cuz help, suicide isn't funny, is it?
39:42And if I just didn't bother to
39:44acknowledge the fact that we're not
39:45laughing at suicide, we're laughing at
39:47how blasé Phoebe is about such a heavy
39:49topic, then that would further serve the
39:51argument that Friends endorses toxic
39:53behavior when it demonstrably doesn't.
39:55It makes mistakes in its presentation of
39:57it, sure, but it doesn't actually
39:59endorse the characters' world views.
40:01You're not meant to respect Joey. You're
40:04meant to laugh at him.
40:06And while we're on toxic behavior, let's
40:07do an equally difficult one.
40:16So, this is a point where I'm probably
40:17going to make some people angry cuz a
40:19lot has been made in recent years of how
40:20toxic a lot of the behavior that Ross
40:22exhibits throughout the series is. And
40:24while yeah, I agree it is, like with
40:26Joey, I would argue that that was the
40:28point. Take for example the one where
40:30Ross is mortified by the fact his son is
40:32playing with a Barbie doll and tries to
40:34convince him over the course of the
40:35episode to play with a GI Joe. While
40:37yes, this is not exactly the height of
40:39comedy and about a million miles away
40:40from Friends at its best, the point of
40:42the episode is undeniably this is a
40:45stupid attitude to have. People keep on
40:47telling him he looks ridiculous. Ross,
40:50you are so pathetic. Why can't your son
40:52just play with his doll? Ross is very
40:55much the villain of this storyline and
40:57you can't argue that it's not in keeping
40:58with his character. Ross spends pretty
41:01much the entire show not accepting
41:02people for the way they are and that's
41:05what causes him to sow the seeds of his
41:07own discord. He got married to Carol far
41:09too young because he assumed that's what
41:11you're supposed to do and then when she
41:12discovered she wasn't straight, she
41:14split up with him and he had a hard time
41:16accepting that. So hard that he never
41:18really did. He lashed out. It
41:21essentially became Carol's fault that
41:22she was a lesbian and left Ross a
41:24divorced dad by his late 20s. Ross
41:27desperately chases this dream of what he
41:29considers to be a normal healthy
41:30functional life, a married professor of
41:32paleontology with children. When that
41:35doesn't work out, he can't accept that
41:37he is the one who's made mistakes and so
41:39he tries to change everyone else and not
41:41himself.
41:43Here's a wacky thought.
41:44Um
41:46What say you and I give it another shot?
41:49Right. No, no, no, I know what you're
41:50going to say. You're a lesbian. What do
41:52you say we just put that aside for now,
41:55you know?
41:55Let's just stick a pin in it, okay? You
41:58know that thing we put over here with
42:00the pin in it?
42:04It's time to take the pin out.
42:08This is the type of character who would
42:09be homophobic and would have
42:11internalized toxic masculinity And he's
42:13not meant to be right. He's meant to
42:15learn lessons and accept other people
42:17and accept that he's in the wrong.
42:19Doesn't always happen, of course, cuz
42:20even though Friends' approach to the
42:21status quo was much looser than most
42:23sitcoms, if he changes too much, we'd
42:25run out of stories that we could tell
42:27with him. I feel that the Ross toxicity
42:29argument a lot of the time misses the
42:31point that you can't have Ross learn
42:32that he's in the wrong if you make it so
42:35he's right in the first place. That's
42:37how stories happen. People have to have
42:39flaws to overcome. Oh, Ross's toxic.
42:42Yet, that's the point. Like with Joey,
42:45you're laughing at this behavior, not
42:47with it. The reason I find a lot of
42:49these how Friends has aged badly essays
42:51and lists particularly lazy is a lot of
42:54the time it just amounts to pointing at
42:55a plot or a line and saying, "Look, this
42:58character is behaving in a toxic way."
43:00When that's not really any kind of
43:01unique or mind-blowing interpretation of
43:03a piece of media from the past, that's
43:05just what it's about. Ross learning how
43:08to become a better person is probably
43:09best demonstrated in the one with the
43:11lesbian wedding, which yes, has aged
43:13incredibly poorly, but for the time, its
43:16heart was clearly in the right place.
43:19It's a look at how Ross is having a hard
43:20time dealing with Carol marrying Susan
43:22because of the circumstances of their
43:24relationship, but he does the right
43:26thing in the end. He assuages Carol's
43:28doubts when she comes to him and says
43:30she doesn't know if she can go through
43:31with it because her parents won't accept
43:33her.
43:34I uh can't believe I'm going to say
43:35this, but I think Susan's right.
43:38You do?
43:40Look, do you love her? I do. Well, then
43:43that's it.
43:44And if George and Adelaide can't accept
43:46that, then the hell with them.
43:48Ross has been struggling with this, but
43:50he does the decent thing in the end and
43:52he lets go.
43:57All right, Carol wasn't Ross's to let
44:00go, and this episode is less about two
44:02women finding each other and more about
44:03a self-important man's neuroses. Again,
44:06not saying this is the most progressive
44:07thing ever, but for 1995, it was clearly
44:10trying. And you understand where Ross is
44:12coming from given that Carol is someone
44:13who he was incredibly close to. It's not
44:16just out and out bigotry that's going on
44:18here. Although yes, they do do that with
44:20Ross sometimes. There are instances
44:22where they go overboard and make him too
44:24toxic. Specifically in The One with the
44:26Male Nanny from season 9, which for me
44:29is up there with The One with the Rumor
44:30and The One with the Sharks in worst
44:32Friends episodes that aren't clip shows.
44:34Actually, I'd go further. This is the
44:36worst episode of Friends, clip shows and
44:38all. The problem again was it had one
44:40overdone unfunny joke. Ross thinks it's
44:43weird that they're about to have a male
44:44nanny, and because he's a male nanny,
44:46that means he must be gay, and that is a
44:48problem. Oh my god, a gay man looking
44:51after children? Heaven forbid. Are you
44:55gay?
44:57Kind of job is that for a man? A nanny?
45:00You've got to be at least bi.
45:03And it does this joke again and again
45:05and again. The B story is pretty weak,
45:07too. It's double length. Sometimes
45:10Friends really did have a hard time
45:11finding the line beyond which Ross just
45:13becomes genuinely unlikable. It's not
45:16the ultimate intention that's the
45:17problem with The One with the Male
45:18Nanny, though. Ross admits that his
45:20neurosis about feminine men comes from
45:22his dad judging him for playing with
45:23dinosaurs when he was a kid instead of
45:25playing sports. Maybe maybe because of
45:28my father.
45:30You know, when I was growing up, he was
45:31kind of a tough guy.
45:34You know, what I And as a kid, I I
45:35wasn't the athlete I am now. I always
45:38got the feeling he thought I was too
45:40sensitive.
45:42The thing is, though, this doesn't work
45:43at all because Ross's dad is
45:45historically the more emotionally
45:46supportive of his parents. And both his
45:48parents have always thought the world of
45:50Ross. His toxicity does not come from
45:52his parents thinking less of him. It
45:54comes from his parents thinking too
45:56highly of him and him trying to live up
45:58to that. Again, like with The One Where
46:00Ben Plays with the Doll, The One with
46:01the Male nanny does know that Ross is in
46:03the wrong, and it does try and analyze
46:05why he's wrong, but the problem was its
46:08analysis was based on something there
46:09was no groundwork for. And also, making
46:11a half-assed apology at the end for
46:13spending half an hour playing homophobia
46:15and toxic masculinity for cheap laughs
46:17felt like an excuse to indulge in it
46:19rather than to analyze it. I think a lot
46:21of the Ross toxicity backlash has less
46:23to do with the points the show was
46:25making and more to do with the specific
46:27jokes that were told under this premise.
46:30And the fact it was played a bit too
46:31straight in this case. It wasn't
46:33ludicrous. It was a simple case of
46:35homophobia, and that's way too close to
46:37reality to be funny. Whereas, keeping a
46:40secret from Rachel that he's actually
46:41still married to her from that time they
46:43got drunk and married in Vegas is toxic
46:45behavior, but it's so damn stupid and
46:47unreal that you can find this behavior
46:49funny. Ross, ARE YOU CRAZY? I'M STILL
46:53YOUR WIFE.
46:54WERE YOU JUST NEVER GOING TO TELL ME?
46:56WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?
46:59YEAH, Ross is not the good guy in any of
47:01these situations, but he's not meant to
47:03be.
47:04Although, the specific jokes chosen for
47:06things like the one with the male nanny
47:08do obscure this point. I do get why this
47:11backlash has happened, though, because
47:12being a main character and having all
47:13these stories in which he's supposed to
47:15be this lovable pathetic loser does
47:17endear the audience to Ross, and it does
47:19kind of put you on his side regardless
47:21of whether he's actually meant to be
47:23right or not. Take for example the
47:25situation with Emily where he says the
47:26wrong name at the altar. Emily's one of
47:28the most despised characters in the
47:30entire Friends canon, and yet she didn't
47:32really do a whole lot that was wrong.
47:35Ross showed up at the airport when she
47:36was about to leave and told her he loved
47:38her even though they'd barely known each
47:39other a month. Ross encouraged her to
47:41get married way too fast. He demanded
47:44they push ahead with the wedding when
47:45she asked to postpone it. Rachel showed
47:47up to the wedding with the intention of
47:49telling Ross that she was still in love
47:50with him. Then, Ross said the wrong name
47:52at the altar. Of course, Emily was going
47:55to feel insecure about that. Of course,
47:58she was going to make unreasonable
47:59demands in order for there to be any
48:01chance of making amends. Any human being
48:03would react this way. The point of this
48:06story is that Ross barely knows Emily,
48:08and he should not have suggested they
48:10get married so fast. And of course, that
48:12he and Rachel never got over each other.
48:14None of that is Emily's fault, and yet
48:16my fellow Friends fans tend to blame
48:18Emily for it. And they see her as this
48:20crazy [ __ ] when she starts making
48:21unreasonable demands that he ditch
48:23Rachel if he wants them to reconcile in
48:25season five. Do you have to be?
48:27I, Ross
48:29I, Ross take thee, Emily
48:32take thee, Rachel
48:35Who am I saying hello to? I don't know
48:37about who's here, but I can tell you for
48:39damn sure who's not here, and that's
48:41Rachel. Well, I should hope not. Ross
48:43knows better than that by now.
48:48Would you act any differently if you
48:50were Emily? Cuz I sure as hell wouldn't.
48:53I do get why people don't take its
48:54points and side with our characters even
48:56when they're clearly wrong though,
48:57because no one's ever really been that
48:59sure what Friends is actually supposed
49:00to be. And therefore, the line between
49:02laughing with our characters and at how
49:05ridiculous they are tends to be much
49:07blurrier than it should be.
49:09So, what is Friends actually supposed to
49:11be? Why don't you tell us, Stuart, if
49:13you know the show better than the rest
49:14of us? Thank you, I will. Again, there
49:16was this perception that arose around
49:18the mid-2000s that Friends was an
49:19endorsement of cheesy '90s vapidity
49:22rather than a send-up of it. It's
49:24possible that this was going to the
49:25aforementioned outdated ideas about the
49:27difference between American comedy and
49:28British comedy is characters you're
49:29meant to laugh with instead of at, and
49:31people arguably did start laughing with
49:34them instead of at them, and actually
49:35got deeply invested in their delusions.
49:38People started taking Friends at face
49:40value, not just in terms of things like
49:42the friend zone becoming a supposed
49:43tangible concept, and not something
49:45openly ridiculous suggested by the
49:47show's least intelligent character. Ross
49:50and Rachel are very much not right for
49:51each other, and yet people wanted them
49:53to get together because network sitcoms
49:56induce a feeling of warm, cuddly, fuzzy
49:58comfort in the viewer simply by the
49:59osmosis of being surrounded by audience
50:01laughter. Friends was not a very happy
50:04show. Lots of miserable things happened
50:06in it, and yet people don't notice that
50:08because the environment of a network
50:10sitcom disguises the darker edge with a
50:12soft focus and a nice, easy-going,
50:15unchallenging comic rhythm.
50:23Okay, yes, I do recognize that it is
50:25literally just me that thinks this.
50:28Please scream at me now, comment
50:29section. But yes, that is what Friends
50:32is supposed to be in my opinion. It's a
50:35subversion of the standard sitcom
50:37formula where openly tragic events are
50:40masked by the format. The episode where
50:42Ross has a mental breakdown at work and
50:44gets put on medication stands out to me
50:46cuz it's a really tragic life event, and
50:49yet it's punctuated with audience
50:51laughter that juxtaposes it. I saw a
50:53psychiatrist at work today.
50:57Why? On account of my rage.
51:00Well, when the psychiatrist told me that
51:02I had to take a leave of absence because
51:04I yelled at my boss, so he offered me a
51:06tranquilizer.
51:09And I thought it was a good idea.
51:11So, I took it.
51:14Friends looks cute and comforting, but
51:16there's always downsides. Things and
51:18people are not always perfect.
51:20Characters retain toxic world views.
51:23They openly [ __ ] their own and others'
51:24lives up for comic effect. Nothing can
51:27ever just be good in Friends, even when
51:29it comes to what is easily the brightest
51:31and warmest spot in the entire series.
51:41The story of Monica and Chandler is kind
51:43of an inverted version of the story of
51:45Ross and Rachel. The story of how Rachel
51:47will eventually see just how much this
51:49humble science nerd cares about the most
51:51popular and beautiful girl from their
51:52high school when the time is right is a
51:54story that Ross has been telling himself
51:56for years, and it tells us a lot about
51:58his overinflated sense of his own
52:00importance. Giving himself all these
52:02[ __ ] reasons not to say anything to
52:04her to, you know, just see whether
52:05she'll reciprocate grants his story all
52:08this drama and gravitas and paints him
52:10as this heroic underdog when, honestly,
52:12he should have just pulled the plaster
52:13off and stopped being such a moopy,
52:15self-pitying coward. Ross and Rachel is
52:17painted like a doomed Hollywood romance,
52:20whereas Monica and Chandler had none of
52:22that because they were both on a level
52:24playing field. There are all these light
52:27hints going way back to season 1 that
52:28Monica and Chandler will end up getting
52:30together someday, but it did take the
52:32writers a while to figure out just how
52:34similar these characters are. They both
52:36have severe confidence issues left over
52:38from high school and traumatic incidents
52:40in their lives that deflated their own
52:42senses of self-worth. Chandler may have
52:44had a rich and spoiled upbringing, but
52:46he couldn't handle his parents' divorce,
52:48and his mother and father's very public
52:49ownership of their respective
52:51sexualities made him feel small by
52:53comparison. And so, he's incredibly
52:55sexually and romantically immature, and
52:57he developed his sense of humor as a
52:59defense mechanism to avoid facing up to
53:01that. When we come back, we'll be
53:03talking about her new book, Euphoria
53:04Unbound, the always interesting Nora
53:06Tyler Bering. You might want to put the
53:07kids to bed for this one. You know what?
53:09I got to tell you, I love your mom's
53:11books. I mean, this is so cool.
53:13Yeah, well, you wouldn't think it's cool
53:14if you're 11 years old and all your
53:15friends are passing around page 79 of
53:17Mistress [ __ ]
53:19And his lack of self-worth is compounded
53:21by setting himself alongside Joey, this
53:23confident and good-looking ladies' man.
53:25He doesn't have Joey's looks or Ross's
53:27tragic romance. He's the Joker, that's
53:30his role, and therefore his love life is
53:32always a series of jokes. He's stuck in
53:35this perpetual loop of a relationship
53:37with Janice, a woman who he ends up
53:38despising, and yet he He just seems to
53:40end up with her. And all his friends
53:42keep making these snide, crass
53:44insinuations that maybe he's actually
53:46gay, which he's incredibly uncomfortable
53:48with because of his homophobia, which
53:50appears to be born from his troubled
53:51relationship with his father. Meanwhile,
53:53Monica grew up with a binge-eating
53:55problem, and she always found it
53:56impossible to measure up to Rachel, her
53:58extremely popular, confident, and sure
54:00of herself best friend, and also her
54:02brother Ross, the golden boy and her
54:05parents' clear favorite. This is
54:07demonstrated by her mother's snide
54:09attitude towards her throughout the
54:10show. Even when Ross's life takes a
54:12downturn, Monica is always second best.
54:15She's pregnant with my child.
54:19And she and Susan are going to raise the
54:22baby.
54:23And you knew about this?
54:26And part of the reason that Monica takes
54:27on this role of the motherly figure to
54:29the rest of them is to counter how her
54:31parents treated her growing up. It's
54:33trying to show them up and show the
54:35world that, "See, this is what a caring
54:37person really looks like." But the
54:39result of that is that her life is spent
54:41looking after everyone else at her own
54:42expense, and putting up with a
54:44terminally unsatisfying romantic life
54:46where she's always seeing to the needs
54:48of others instead of herself. This
54:50happens in obvious cases, like her
54:52relationship with Pete, where her
54:53initial instincts that they're not right
54:55for each other are put to one side and
54:57then put to the test when he decides he
54:59wants to become the ultimate fighting
55:00champion. This is also demonstrated less
55:03obviously with Richard, who may seem
55:05great, but she ultimately put him on a
55:07pedestal and continued to date him even
55:10though she has clear maternal instincts
55:12that he was never going to want to
55:14satisfy. If kids is what it takes to be
55:16with you, then kids it is. If I have to,
55:18I'll I'll do it all again. I'll do the
55:214:00 feeding thing. If I have to do it
55:23all again.
55:25Then I will.
55:26And if you hadn't have said
55:28"If I have to"
55:30like 17 times
55:33then I'd be saying, "Okay, let's do it.
55:36I want to have a baby.
55:41But I don't want to have one with
55:42someone who doesn't really want to have
55:44one.
55:46Monica and Chandler have both spent so
55:47much time treating themselves as
55:49secondary characters in somebody else's
55:51story that they don't even realize that
55:53they're almost too perfect for each
55:55other. They both have the same issues
55:57and can work together to resolve them.
55:59There's a similar bit of toing and
56:00froing throughout their relationship
56:02beyond the light hints for the first
56:04couple of years. The point where the
56:05ultimate intentions became clear happens
56:08at the one at the beach and the one with
56:09the jellyfish over the end of season 3
56:11where Chandler offers to be Monica's
56:13boyfriend after she breaks up with Pete.
56:16This is just him testing the waters and
56:18she's unsure of it at first and it's
56:20done in this sort of jokey way as in,
56:22"Hey, what if we got together? That'd be
56:24completely ridiculous, wouldn't it?
56:25Because we've been friends for years and
56:27we've both accepted by this point in our
56:29lives that we're pathetic, unlovable
56:30losers with terrible relationships.
56:32That's the way it is, was, and always
56:34will be. That's the status quo of the
56:36sitcom that we're a part of. We're
56:38principally there to be Ross and
56:40Rachel's plus ones respectively. This
56:42show is about Ross and Rachel and
56:43whether they will or won't get together.
56:45That is the point of Friends. That's
56:48what the beach storyline over the end of
56:49season 3 and the start of season 4 is
56:51primarily about. The light suggestion of
56:53Monica and Chandler maybe getting
56:55together isn't even the B story. The B
56:57story is Phoebe finding her birth
56:59mother. It's not even the C story. It's
57:01like the D, E, or F story. It's treated
57:04with such little prominence that
57:06everyone completely forgot this happened
57:08and then them getting together in London
57:09was a total shock for everyone. Everyone
57:11just forgot that it was seeded here.
57:14Okay, all right. I think you're great.
57:16And I love you.
57:19But you will always be the guy who peed
57:21on me.
57:23And the Ross's wedding finale mirrors
57:24these episodes because again, on the
57:26surface, it's all about Ross. Just like
57:29it was throughout Monica's childhood as
57:31her mother was undermining her. Just
57:32like it was throughout the Ross and
57:33Rachel storyline where Chandler and
57:35Monica's every relationship was falling
57:37apart in the background. The church that
57:39Ross and Emily wanted to get married in
57:40is halfway demolished. Rachel shows up
57:42to wreck the wedding. Meanwhile, Monica
57:44and Chandler keep their hookup at a
57:46lower, more background noise level.
57:48Monica keeps making the excuse that
57:50she's drunk, sad, lonely, and Chandler's
57:52still making jokes about it. And they
57:54make out like them hooking up isn't a
57:56big deal. It takes a few more episodes
57:58when they get back to the US to admit to
58:00themselves that them hooking up and them
58:01planning on doing it again wasn't just
58:03an accident. But they really don't want
58:06it to seem like it's a big deal. So,
58:07what they do is they keep it a secret
58:09that they're together for the first half
58:11of season 5. But just stop and think
58:14here. Outside of giving us some
58:16interesting stories to tell, why do
58:18Monica and Chandler do that? The reason
58:20we didn't tell anyone was because we
58:22didn't want to make a big deal out of
58:23it. But it is a big deal.
58:26Please, we just don't want to deal with
58:27telling everyone, okay? That might seem
58:29like it's an answer, but it isn't. They
58:32never explain properly why they don't
58:35want this to be a big deal, but it's
58:37quite obvious why when you look at how
58:39we got to this point. Because then
58:41publicly owning this moment in their
58:42lives clashes with who they've made
58:44themselves out to be for such a long
58:46time. Monica feeling inferior to Ross
58:49and Chandler feeling inferior to
58:51everyone is a part of their identities.
58:54The initiation of this relationship
58:55should have been the happiest time of
58:56their lives and they should have allowed
58:58themselves to bask in it, but they can't
59:00because their stories have never been
59:01about them before and it would feel
59:03weird and wrong to make it about them
59:05now. They're just so afraid that
59:07anything might ruin it, even something
59:09as completely innocuous as just publicly
59:12admitting to their friends that they're
59:13together. While the Monica and Chandler
59:15relationship is the brightest thing to
59:17happen in this show, it's not allowed to
59:19come without its inhibitions. It's warm
59:21and nice, but it makes sense that
59:23there's a counterpoint to it that's been
59:24driven by all this detailed character
59:26work that's been going on throughout the
59:28show. That's why this is one of the more
59:30memorable arcs on the show because it's
59:32really well balanced, really well
59:34reasoned, and it also allows the show to
59:36indulge in a lot of farces, which carry
59:38on for some of the show's strongest
59:40episodes. The one with Ross's sandwich,
59:42which as well as being a hilariously
59:44tragic character study of Ross, also
59:46plays up the pressure that keeping the
59:48relationship a secret is having on Joey,
59:50the only person who knows about it. The
59:52hideously overcomplicated lengths that
59:54Monica and Chandler have to go to now to
59:56keep their relationship a secret are
59:58both hilarious, but also an important
1:00:01trigger for emotional growth for both of
1:00:03them. Their inhibitions have made their
1:00:04lives so complicated that they have to
1:00:06openly humiliate themselves in order to
1:00:09keep up this facade. I'm Monica. I'm
1:00:12disgusting. I stalk guys and keep their
1:00:15underpants.
1:00:17This all culminates in the one where
1:00:18everybody finds out, an utterly gorgeous
1:00:21farce that layers scheme on top of
1:00:23scheme on top of scheme. They know they
1:00:26won't be able to maintain a lack of
1:00:27attention on their love lives forever,
1:00:29but they're in too deep now and they
1:00:30can't let the other side win.
1:00:33Okay, so now they know you know and they
1:00:34don't know that Rachel knows. We could
1:00:36not tell them we know and have a little
1:00:38fun of our own. Oh my god, she knows
1:00:40about us. Phoebe knows and she just went
1:00:42to freak us out.
1:00:43It's over now, right? Cuz you can tell
1:00:45them you know they know. Oh man, they
1:00:47think they are so slick messing with us.
1:00:50But see, they don't know that we know
1:00:52that they know. They don't know that we
1:00:54know they know we know.
1:00:57Following the one where everybody finds
1:00:58out, their relationship is allowed to
1:00:59progress a normal pace. But because they
1:01:02had this established history of being
1:01:03the underdogs when set alongside Ross
1:01:05and Rachel, it still comes with doubts,
1:01:07setbacks, and the natural arguments that
1:01:09will occur when two people are still
1:01:11finding each other's boundaries. And
1:01:13because they built such simple but
1:01:14effective character traits for Monica
1:01:16with her obsessive nature and Chandler
1:01:18with his self-doubt, they still had
1:01:20hundreds of great stories left to tell
1:01:22with this couple dynamic. One of my
1:01:24favorites is this one where Chandler
1:01:26decides to do something nice and cleans
1:01:28the apartment while Monica's away at
1:01:29work, but then Ross points out that
1:01:32everything won't be put back exactly
1:01:34where it's supposed to be. Did you get
1:01:35Monica's authorization to move all of
1:01:37her stuff?
1:01:38Yeah, I'm going to put everything back.
1:01:39Put it back exactly where you found it?
1:01:42I I I cleaned the apartment. I moved
1:01:44everything around and then I I forgot
1:01:46where it
1:01:47where it went back. And I'm sorry. I'm
1:01:49very sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love
1:01:51this one so much because of the
1:01:52incredibly satisfying ending where
1:01:54Monica lets go of her obsessive nature
1:01:57when it comes to her other half. My
1:01:59gosh, Chandler, what you did. It's
1:02:01such a wonderful thing and I I really
1:02:03appreciate it. I know I have this weird
1:02:05thing where I want everything to be in
1:02:06the perfect place, but I would never
1:02:08expect you to worry about that.
1:02:10The Monica and Chandler story is
1:02:12essentially a tale of two people moving
1:02:14past their worst instincts in pursuit of
1:02:16collective happiness and it's beautiful.
1:02:19Of course, the key arc that pushes this
1:02:21character growth for Chandler is the one
1:02:22at the end of season six where he's
1:02:24about to propose to Monica and he has a
1:02:26plan to throw her off guard and make it
1:02:28a surprise. That fails and the ex-love
1:02:30of her life, Richard, returns to the
1:02:32show. Chandler has to confront his
1:02:34jealousy and his constant doubt that a
1:02:36story could ever truly be about him and
1:02:39do what he knows he has to do in order
1:02:41to allow himself to finally be happy.
1:02:43And Richard is the perfect character to
1:02:45drive that home and stop Chandler from
1:02:47self-sabotaging because you know that he
1:02:50could never be spiteful or undermining
1:02:52and that he would always want what's
1:02:53best for Monica. And I love that scene
1:02:55where Chandler confronts him and
1:02:56realizes his perception of Richard as a
1:02:58potential threat is driven by his own
1:03:00sense of inferiority.
1:03:03You go get her, Chandler.
1:03:05If you do get her,
1:03:08don't let her go.
1:03:09You know, Richard,
1:03:12you are a good guy.
1:03:15I know.
1:03:18I hate that. This is also attempted to
1:03:20end that arc at the end of season 7
1:03:22surrounding Chandler's dad, which
1:03:30Okay, the clear intent here was for
1:03:32Chandler to face up to the fact that
1:03:34pushing his dad away because his dad
1:03:36came out as gay and then came out as
1:03:38trans was a shitty thing to do and he
1:03:40needed to get the [ __ ] over himself.
1:03:42They had already taught him this lesson
1:03:44that the way he perceives other people
1:03:45is based on horse [ __ ] and is making
1:03:47worse in terms of his love life and gone
1:03:49ending out of that, but he was yet to
1:03:52apply this same principle with his
1:03:53historically fractious relationship with
1:03:55his parents. Like I said earlier, the
1:03:57way the show used Ross's learned
1:03:59behaviors and toxic masculinity to teach
1:04:01him progressive lessons was the show
1:04:03showing its heart was in the right place
1:04:05and while this arc does make it very
1:04:07clear who is in the right and who is in
1:04:09the wrong, the Chandler's dad arc is the
1:04:11part of the show that's aged the most
1:04:13poorly because it's quite clearly come
1:04:15from writers on the outside of a
1:04:17community looking in and we also have
1:04:19the same problem as with the specific
1:04:21jokes told in the one with the male
1:04:23nanny. The point of the story might be
1:04:25punching up, but the jokes themselves
1:04:28punch down. And trans people's opinions
1:04:30on the Chandler's dad episodes are going
1:04:32to be much more valid than mine. So,
1:04:34please comment with those opinions now
1:04:36because I recognize I'm really out of my
1:04:37depth here. As well as having Monica and
1:04:40Chandler undergo the emotional growth
1:04:41necessary in order to become a happy,
1:04:43healthy adult couple, there was also
1:04:45this new found tension with Ross and
1:04:47Rachel as Monica and Chandler became the
1:04:49show's new central couple. Ross and
1:04:51Rachel hadn't really been a thing for
1:04:53years at this point and Monica and
1:04:54Chandler's public ownership of their own
1:04:56stories in season 5 was starting to push
1:04:59Ross and Rachel into positions as
1:05:00secondary characters. And this reversal
1:05:03of roles led to some great conflict
1:05:05driven episodes. Easily the best of
1:05:07these was the one I already mentioned
1:05:09where Ross and Rachel get married in
1:05:10Vegas while they're drunk. This is
1:05:12primarily done to demonstrate the
1:05:14contrast between Ross and Rachel and
1:05:16Monica and Chandler, who almost decided
1:05:18to get married themselves in the same
1:05:20episode for legitimate reasons.
1:05:22Ross and Rachel were supposed to be the
1:05:24show's key relationship, but they were
1:05:26[ __ ] terrible for each other. And
1:05:28this twisted insane nightmare drama
1:05:30where they get married by accident and
1:05:32then he hides the fact that he's still
1:05:34married to her is just taking it to the
1:05:36extremist of extremes, going so far
1:05:38beyond all prior demonstrations that
1:05:40they're clearly bad for each other. And
1:05:42I I have loved her in the past, but now
1:05:45she is just my wife.
1:05:49Ross, just for my own peace of mind,
1:05:50you're not married anymore, are you?
1:05:53Hi, how are the Gellers?
1:05:59Don't call us that.
1:06:02Ross and Rachel's lives are complete
1:06:04messes, and yet there's still this
1:06:06unspoken rivalry between the two key
1:06:08couples, even though Monica and Chandler
1:06:10are going pretty much perfectly by
1:06:11comparison. This mostly unspoken rivalry
1:06:14finally gets spoken in The One With
1:06:16Monica's Thunder, where Ross and Rachel
1:06:18almost get back together on the night
1:06:20that Monica and Chandler get engaged,
1:06:22until they get discovered by Monica.
1:06:29I'm sorry, apparently I've opened the
1:06:30door to the past.
1:06:33The reason Monica's so offended is
1:06:35because just like in high school,
1:06:37everything is about Ross and Rachel
1:06:39again. It feels like she's being dragged
1:06:41back to a time where she didn't have the
1:06:42confidence to take control of her own
1:06:44life. My sweet sixteen, remember you
1:06:46went to third base with my cousin
1:06:48Charlie? Monica, you know what? The only
1:06:49reason I did that was because your party
1:06:51was so boring.
1:06:54WE HAD A CARICATURIST!
1:06:56A lot of Friends fans make the case that
1:06:58the show should have ended with Monica
1:06:59and Chandler's wedding. And a part of me
1:07:01does agree with that. The show started
1:07:04out as the story of an unrequited
1:07:05romance between Ross and Rachel. That
1:07:08fell apart and then it turned into a
1:07:09show about two under-confident people
1:07:11unsure of their own importance and place
1:07:13in the world finding each other. As far
1:07:15as reversals go, you couldn't ask for a
1:07:17better one. I know it's been built up
1:07:19for years, but Ross's crush on Rachel is
1:07:21not cute. It is not the romantic ideal.
1:07:25Ross is much more in love with the story
1:07:27of Ross and Rachel than he is with
1:07:29Rachel. Rachel felt lost and
1:07:31directionless in season 2 and the fact
1:07:33Ross was infatuated with her when she
1:07:34was in high school meant that being with
1:07:36him made her feel like she was the
1:07:37popular cheerleader again. Whereas
1:07:39Monica and Chandler had respect for one
1:07:41another and they gained self-respect as
1:07:44their relationship wore on. You don't
1:07:46want to be Ross and Rachel. You want to
1:07:48be Monica and Chandler. And the finale
1:07:50of season 7 does an incredible job in
1:07:53resolving the conflict between these two
1:07:55couples. On the day of Monica and
1:07:57Chandler's wedding, Rachel discovers
1:07:59that she's pregnant, but her immediate
1:08:01instinct is to keep this a secret. She
1:08:04lies and says that obviously the
1:08:05pregnancy test they found in the trash
1:08:07at Monica's apartment is Monica's.
1:08:09Rachel accidentally made the day of
1:08:11Monica and Chandler's engagement about
1:08:13her and Ross, but this day is about
1:08:15Monica and Rachel decides that she
1:08:17should not make that same mistake again.
1:08:19She covers it up and lets her best
1:08:21friend have her time in the spotlight.
1:08:23It's Monica and Chandler's day, not hers
1:08:26and she lets her have that.
1:08:34Thing is though, you can't just leave it
1:08:36there, can you? I mean, realistically,
1:08:38come on. While Rachel's pregnancy was a
1:08:41useful tool in resolving the conflict
1:08:43between the two key relationships the
1:08:45show had been built around, you can't
1:08:47just end a series by revealing that a
1:08:49key character is pregnant and not tell
1:08:51us who the father is.
1:08:57I mean, sure it is obvious who the
1:08:58father is, but anyone who thought this
1:09:00was going to be an ending to the show as
1:09:02a whole was clearly deluding themselves.
1:09:04And that leads us neatly on to what I
1:09:07like to call the clutching at straws
1:09:09period.
1:09:10Oh my god, I wonder who the father of
1:09:13Rachel's baby is. Could it be this
1:09:15character? Or will it be this character?
1:09:20Maybe it'll be this character.
1:09:23Oh my god, imagine if it was Gunther.
1:09:25Fortunately, they only treat us as if
1:09:26we're complete [ __ ] idiots for the
1:09:28first couple of episodes before they
1:09:29reveal obviously it's Ross. And the one
1:09:32where Rachel tells him and the one with
1:09:33a videotape where there's this ceaseless
1:09:35debate over how the [ __ ] this whole
1:09:36thing got started up again are both very
1:09:38well done. Ross's reaction to being told
1:09:41that the girl he obsessed over in high
1:09:42school and for most of his adult life is
1:09:44now going to be having his kid but will
1:09:46not be getting back together with him is
1:09:48very consistent with his frantic nature
1:09:50and his obsession with doing things in
1:09:52the traditional way. I think we can
1:09:53probably worry about that till after we
1:09:55get married. What, married? Well, yeah,
1:09:57I think we should get married. What,
1:09:58because that's your answer to
1:10:00everything? No, because that's the right
1:10:02thing to do. And the episode where
1:10:04Rachel tells her dad the situation and
1:10:06has to face up to him is wonderful
1:10:08because even though she knows what she
1:10:10wants and what she doesn't want, we all
1:10:12turn into children around our parents.
1:10:14And the farce of having Rachel point the
1:10:15finger of blame for this non-traditional
1:10:17setup at Ross was genuinely hilarious.
1:10:20Really, her dad should have been in more
1:10:21episodes. Rob Leibman is great. Is it
1:10:24because that punk Ross won't marry you?
1:10:26That's it. Is that it? Yes, yes, he says
1:10:28I'm damaged goods.
1:10:31While season 8 isn't quite as solid as 6
1:10:33and 7 and it would have been much more
1:10:35satisfying as an ending if the
1:10:36Ross-Rachel storyline was allowed to
1:10:38fade into the background while the
1:10:39Monica-Chandler relationship is allowed
1:10:41to flourish, I do think the Rachel is
1:10:43pregnant arc has a reason to exist. It's
1:10:46pretty much the culmination of this
1:10:48struggle for independence that Rachel
1:10:49has been engaging in for pretty much the
1:10:51entire series and Ross's struggle to
1:10:53accept the fact that his life will not
1:10:55work out in the conventional traditional
1:10:56way that he envisioned when he was
1:10:58younger, even in respect of the idea
1:11:00that Rachel is supposed to be the one
1:11:01he's meant to be with. Because she's
1:11:03your lobster. And to that end, I can
1:11:06kind of see how the writers ended up at
1:11:08the horrifying conclusion that they
1:11:11should start the arc that makes almost
1:11:12every Friends fan angry. And most of you
1:11:15probably knew this was coming.
1:11:30So, Joey now has feelings for Rachel,
1:11:32which he's harboring for most of the
1:11:34time that she's pregnant. He tells her,
1:11:36and obviously she goes,
1:11:38"It's not the right time.
1:11:40I'm carrying Ross's child."
1:11:42Duh. He accepts that, but then he
1:11:45accidentally proposes to her in a really
1:11:47stupid episode at the start of season 9.
1:11:49There's a bit of drama over that, and
1:11:51then she secretly harbors feelings for
1:11:53Joey while he's moving on with a
1:11:54relationship with someone else. That
1:11:56falls apart, and then they try and start
1:11:58something up together in season 10.
1:12:01Now, yes, they try and emotionally
1:12:03manipulate you into thinking this isn't
1:12:05totally stupid with a glaring omission.
1:12:09Take me a while to get over. That's all.
1:12:13Not even sure how to do that. I mean,
1:12:14I've never been in love before, so
1:12:17You're in love with her?
1:12:19I Yeah.
1:12:21Um Joey, your best arc in the entire
1:12:24show, remember?
1:12:26However, while there are huge huge flaws
1:12:29in this entire story, Joey and Rachel
1:12:32isn't completely beyond belief and does
1:12:35serve some kind of warped purpose.
1:12:41Okay, hear me out here. Friends spends
1:12:44quite a lot of its lifetime trying to
1:12:45change the dynamic and subvert audience
1:12:47expectations. This can go from mild
1:12:50things like swapping the boys and girls'
1:12:52apartments for a large chunk of season 4
1:12:54or major things like Ross maybe cheating
1:12:56on Rachel and seemingly ending things
1:12:58between them for good. And having Rachel
1:13:00pregnant with Ross's kid by accident,
1:13:02following that up by saying, "No, this
1:13:04doesn't automatically mean we're going
1:13:06to get together because hell, look at
1:13:07our entire history together." We drove
1:13:09each other crazy.
1:13:10I mean, he was possessive, he was
1:13:12jealous, he could never just let the
1:13:14little things go.
1:13:16And then having her almost but not quite
1:13:19get together with Joey,
1:13:21I can kind of see how they got there.
1:13:24Ever since the one with the list, it's
1:13:26been a process of saying to the
1:13:27audience, "That thing that you think you
1:13:29want, Ross and Rachel getting together,
1:13:31well, life doesn't always work out the
1:13:33way you want it to."
1:13:34Pretty much everyone, including some of
1:13:36the main cast members, had a problem
1:13:38with the Joey is in love with Rachel
1:13:39storyline because one, it almost felt
1:13:42incestuous and two, they were complete
1:13:45opposites. While they may share some
1:13:47similarly shallow views, Rachel spent
1:13:49the entire series battling for maturity
1:13:52and carving out a successful life and
1:13:53career for herself. Joey did the
1:13:56opposite. He never matured, always lived
1:13:58life as a series of high-stakes risks
1:14:00and only ever really had one case of
1:14:02having serious romantic feelings for
1:14:04another character throughout the bulk of
1:14:05the first eight seasons. Joey always
1:14:07just sort of fell into things, but he
1:14:09was happy with that. That's why I always
1:14:11felt that Joey was the least interesting
1:14:13friend because he never really had much
1:14:15of a long-term goal. Rachel did and
1:14:18that's why they don't work together. In
1:14:20the second half of the show, the writers
1:14:22did try and come up with situations
1:14:23where people would encourage Joey to
1:14:24mature and search for more meaningful
1:14:26romantic attachments because, you know,
1:14:28he's in his 30s now and is he really
1:14:30going to want to remain this sleazy shag
1:14:32about forever? But when they attempted
1:14:34to do this, they ended up demonstrating
1:14:36why Joey was never going to mature. They
1:14:39gave him situations which were almost
1:14:41always doomed to fail. He wasn't going
1:14:43to get together and stay together with
1:14:44Janine, a woman who he has nothing in
1:14:46common with and starts out completely
1:14:48disinterested in him. In one episode,
1:14:50the girls try and convince him to become
1:14:51friends with a woman before dating them,
1:14:54but he [ __ ] that up as well because he
1:14:55just doesn't know how to because it's
1:14:57just not in his nature. And that's why
1:14:59this feels so wrong when they try and
1:15:02engineer a situation where this guy, who
1:15:04we've spent so long demonstrating is
1:15:06just not wired for deep romantic
1:15:08attachment, is apparently genuinely
1:15:10deeply in love with Rachel, his friend
1:15:13of 7 years at this point.
1:15:15However, while it is abrasive and
1:15:16uncomfortable, the Joey is in love with
1:15:18Rachel storyline works on a level of
1:15:20continuing to deny this call for Ross
1:15:22and Rachel to get together that the
1:15:24audience have been making for years at
1:15:26this point. And while it may feel wrong,
1:15:28that ultimately is the point of the
1:15:30show, life surprising you and not
1:15:32working out the way you thought it
1:15:33would. It even sings this to you at the
1:15:35start of every episode.
1:15:42The show does this at almost every turn,
1:15:44subverting the audience's expectations
1:15:47and the characters. So, Ross gets
1:15:49married to Carol and has a kid. Turns
1:15:51out Carol's gay and she goes off and
1:15:52gets married to Susan and they raise the
1:15:54kid without Ross.
1:15:59So, Ross finally gets together with his
1:16:01crush from high school and everything
1:16:02looks like the perfect Hollywood romance
1:16:04ending, but oh [ __ ] they're totally
1:16:06unsuited to each other. So, Ross gets
1:16:08his former high school crush who he's
1:16:09unsuited to pregnant, but she doesn't
1:16:11want to be with him, she wants to be
1:16:13with one of his best friends.
1:16:18So, yeah, I know people are going to
1:16:20hate me for saying this, but that's why
1:16:22the Joey and Rachel storyline makes
1:16:24sense as a tool for confounding the
1:16:26audience. Even if they don't make sense
1:16:28together. It's not fun to watch, it's
1:16:31horrible, stupid, awkward, and on
1:16:33occasion nightmare inducing.
1:16:42I hope you're a better father than you
1:16:43are a friend.
1:16:46But it has a point. Ross and Rachel
1:16:48seemed like they should have worked, but
1:16:50didn't. So, instead, let's try something
1:16:52which seems like it won't work in any
1:16:54way, shape, or form.
1:17:01Okay, yes, I do recognize that every
1:17:03single point I made here and about the
1:17:05Ross-Rachel relationship throughout this
1:17:06video gets undermined by the finale, but
1:17:09trust me, we'll get there.
1:17:21So, Monica and Chandler are together,
1:17:23Ross and Rachel aren't. Rachel is now an
1:17:25independent single mother with a
1:17:27high-paying job. Phoebe is slowly
1:17:29getting a life in order with Mike, and
1:17:31Joey is now a successful actor. Seasons
1:17:339 and 10 feel a little bit desperate to
1:17:35people because there's not really a
1:17:36whole lot of new things to do with these
1:17:38characters anymore besides get them to a
1:17:40point where the show feels like it
1:17:41should naturally end. Monica and
1:17:43Chandler easily have the most
1:17:45interesting arc in the final years. They
1:17:47may have gotten together, got married,
1:17:49and things may seem like they're working
1:17:50out, but as ever, things get in the way.
1:17:53Chandler's work moves him away to Tulsa,
1:17:55and then he quits when he realizes just
1:17:56how dissatisfied he is with his life,
1:17:58throwing their plans to have children
1:18:00into disarray. This becomes even more
1:18:02complicated when it turns out they can't
1:18:03have children. This makes a lot of sense
1:18:05as an arc for them because they're both
1:18:07very neurotic people, and Monica and
1:18:09Chandler's path to adoption led to some
1:18:10funny situations, some emotionally
1:18:12engaging situations, and sometimes both.
1:18:16I'd love to, but I got to get back to
1:18:17talking to your parents. They're telling
1:18:19us all about how they adopted you.
1:18:21What?
1:18:25I'm adopted?
1:18:28I got nothing.
1:18:32But outside of Monica and Chandler,
1:18:34seasons 9 and 10 are the least
1:18:36interesting seasons because the types of
1:18:38big events they were playing with had
1:18:40mostly already been played out before,
1:18:42were kind of obvious and expected, and
1:18:44openly just the creatives trying to find
1:18:46an ending for the show as a whole. So,
1:18:48Phoebe's getting together with Mike
1:18:49because we need to give her a happy
1:18:51ending, but there's all this drama
1:18:52between the two because they're still
1:18:54finding each other's boundaries, and
1:18:56Mike openly says he doesn't want to get
1:18:57married again. And then David, the
1:18:59ex-love of Phoebe's life, shows up
1:19:01again. Gee, a little bit like with
1:19:02Richard. And there's all this rivalry
1:19:04between the ex-love of her life and the
1:19:06current love of her life. Gee, I wonder
1:19:08which one she'll choose. And then
1:19:10obviously it's going to lead up to a
1:19:11wedding, which there was pretty much no
1:19:13doubt in anyone's minds was going to
1:19:14happen, unlike in previous seasons. Cuz
1:19:17hell, Monica and Chandler could have
1:19:19fallen apart. The fact the Ross-Rachel
1:19:21relationship had been so popular among
1:19:22the audience and then had been ripped to
1:19:24[ __ ] pieces in such a dramatic way,
1:19:25set an alarming precedent. Things might
1:19:28not happen the way you want them to.
1:19:30That scene where Chandler finally gets
1:19:31his wedding day jitters and runs away to
1:19:33his office was hilarious, but it also
1:19:36felt genuinely dangerous because of all
1:19:38this intricate character work that had
1:19:39been done with him over the years that
1:19:41genuinely made you believe that this
1:19:43might not happen. Because if I go home,
1:19:45we're going to become the Bings. The
1:19:47Bings have horrible marriages. They
1:19:49yell, they fight, and they use the poor
1:19:51boy as a pawn in their sexual games.
1:19:54This is a character we know has serious
1:19:56confidence issues that he may have been
1:19:58working through with Monica, and
1:19:59everything might look like it's about to
1:20:00work out, but again,
1:20:02No one told you life was going to be
1:20:05this way.
1:20:07Yeah, of course they were always going
1:20:08to end up together, but they did all the
1:20:10groundwork necessary to make this feel
1:20:12dangerous. And that's why it's so
1:20:14satisfying when they finally tie the
1:20:16knot. With Phoebe and Mike though, I
1:20:19never really bought any of the
1:20:21revelations and Mike saying he never
1:20:22wants to get married again. They were
1:20:24attempting a similar arc with similar
1:20:26doubts, but I just didn't buy it because
1:20:28as said, Mike was a prop used to finally
1:20:31give Phoebe a happy ending. He wasn't
1:20:33much of a character in his own right. He
1:20:36didn't have the depth of Chandler. So, I
1:20:38could predict where Phoebe and Mike were
1:20:40going. Joey and Rachel obviously wasn't
1:20:42going to be a thing. It was just there
1:20:43to throw everybody off guard. And there
1:20:45were all these hints that Ross and
1:20:47Rachel were going to become a thing
1:20:48again, which I'll get to. The arcs
1:20:50aren't nearly as important in seasons 9
1:20:52and 10 because it's open about the fact
1:20:53it's trying to find an ending. And we
1:20:55pretty much know what's going to happen
1:20:57with all of them. There are arcs like
1:20:59they're always were, but this is why
1:21:00seasons 9 and 10 kind of feel a bit
1:21:02static to people. And we had a much
1:21:04higher number of standalone episodes
1:21:05with simple premises that had nothing to
1:21:07do with the ongoing storylines. We
1:21:09always had these, of course, like the
1:21:11one with the ball, which is a personal
1:21:12favorite because it's so dumb and
1:21:14pointless. But episodes like the one
1:21:16with the lottery or the one where Ross
1:21:18organizes a memorial service for
1:21:19himself, while they are really funny
1:21:21bits of 20-minute time killer, the one
1:21:23with the lottery is still one of my
1:21:24favorite episodes, but they don't really
1:21:26do anything to advance the overall story
1:21:29of the friends trying desperately hard
1:21:31to find a way of achieving that fabled
1:21:32state of being happy and well-adjusted
1:21:35adults. Because Monica and Chandler
1:21:37essentially already are, and the show
1:21:39knows it's almost over, and let's be
1:21:41honest, so do we.
1:21:51So,
1:21:53the last one.
1:21:57Yes, it undermines almost every single
1:21:59point I've made throughout this entire
1:22:00video. But I would personally argue that
1:22:02that's because the last one undermined
1:22:04the entire show, not my reading of it.
1:22:06My reading of the show as being a deep
1:22:08dramatic exploration of people's
1:22:09relationships is perfectly legitimate.
1:22:11Shut up. So, we end up in a very similar
1:22:13place to where we started the series.
1:22:15Ross really doesn't want Rachel to leave
1:22:17and start a new job in Paris. And
1:22:19Phoebe's telling Ross that he needs to
1:22:21tell Rachel how he feels before she
1:22:22leaves. But he's all shy and doesn't
1:22:24want to say anything. And we have the
1:22:26traditional romantic comedy running
1:22:28through the airport to get to her, and
1:22:29they do the big revelations and really
1:22:31telling her how he feels.
1:22:34But, Rachel does still get on the plane
1:22:38in the end.
1:22:39And Ross goes back to his apartment
1:22:41alone,
1:22:42depressed and relenting the fact that no
1:22:45one told him that life was going to be
1:22:47this way.
1:22:49Fade to black.
1:22:53Credits.
1:23:01Okay, now, obviously you know what
1:23:02happens. She leaves the message on his
1:23:04answering machine, which any young
1:23:06people watching this, phones actually
1:23:07used to be plugged into walls.
1:23:11Yeah, I know, it's weird. They were
1:23:12these things called landlines.
1:23:17Yeah, weird, right? I'm not sure how
1:23:19they work. I think the voice is supposed
1:23:21to go in through this wire, and then
1:23:24then the voice come comes out the wire
1:23:26in
1:23:27I don't get it. Anyway, so Rachel
1:23:29reveals she got off the plane. I got OFF
1:23:32THE PLANE.
1:23:35AND THEY KISS, AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
1:23:38OKAY, there is some degree of subverting
1:23:40audience expectations here. You know, it
1:23:42looks like Rachel's got on the plane,
1:23:44left, and moved on with her life. He
1:23:46doesn't get to the airport and then she
1:23:47runs into his arms and says, "Yes, Ross,
1:23:49I will sacrifice my career for the sake
1:23:51of someone who's historically made me
1:23:52completely [ __ ] miserable."
1:23:55But,
1:23:57yeah, while this may have been what the
1:23:58fans and most of the people working on
1:24:00the series ultimately wanted, the reason
1:24:02it gets under my skin is that Rachel is
1:24:05caught at a very similar crossroads she
1:24:06was at in season 3. She wants to pursue
1:24:09her dreams, and that is incompatible
1:24:11with Ross. Like I've said throughout
1:24:13this video, the idealized romance of the
1:24:15most popular girl in high school gets
1:24:17together with the underdog science nerd
1:24:18may sound sweet, but Friends countered
1:24:21that with the cold, hard fact that life
1:24:23is not always sweet and a long-term
1:24:25romance between these two archetypes
1:24:26probably wouldn't work. I do get why
1:24:29they do it though. Having the finale end
1:24:31with Ross and Rachel going their
1:24:32separate ways for good would almost
1:24:34certainly leave everyone with a sour
1:24:35taste in their mouths and it is the last
1:24:38one and doing anything other than this
1:24:40would cause everyone to look back at
1:24:41Friends with bitterness. Finales are
1:24:44hard. That's why so many sitcoms failed
1:24:46the finale test. You need to find a
1:24:48resolution that's satisfying but that
1:24:50also doesn't piss everybody off. While
1:24:52Friends had a lot of cold moments, you
1:24:54do want everyone to ultimately leave the
1:24:56show feeling warm about it as a whole.
1:24:59You could see them backtracking over the
1:25:00course of seasons 9 and 10 where they're
1:25:02trying to engineer it so this scenario
1:25:03makes more sense than the idea of Ross
1:25:05and Rachel ending up together in seasons
1:25:072 and 3 would have done and from all
1:25:09that evidence you knew exactly where
1:25:10they were going, which is why I said
1:25:12seasons 9 and 10 are pretty
1:25:14unsurprising, which is why they're the
1:25:15least memorable. Rachel had put a foot
1:25:18down and said no, we're not getting back
1:25:19together again in season 8, but while
1:25:21Rachel was pregnant and then when they
1:25:23were raising Emma as separated platonic
1:25:25partners in seasons 9 and 10, Ross was
1:25:27starting to become a bit more respectful
1:25:29of Rachel's needs than he was back in
1:25:30the earlier seasons. I know it's a
1:25:32terrible thing to even think this, but I
1:25:34want you to be at my constant beck and
1:25:35call 24 hours a day. I'm very sorry, but
1:25:39that is just the way that I feel.
1:25:45Okay.
1:25:47What?
1:25:48I'll be here with you all the time.
1:25:51But I'm being so unreasonable.
1:25:56True, but you're allowed to be
1:25:58unreasonable. You're having a baby.
1:26:01So all right, it's not totally out of
1:26:03the blue that they got back together in
1:26:04the end. Ross and Rachel had both
1:26:06changed, so while it appears similar, I
1:26:08will admit it's not totally the same
1:26:10crossroads we had back in season 3 when
1:26:12she was starting her job and Ross was
1:26:14being a self-centered [ __ ] about it.
1:26:20But secretly I do like to think that
1:26:22after the last one Rachel decided to go
1:26:24to Paris for 6 months and continue to
1:26:26pursue her dreams and her relationship
1:26:28with Ross long distance and he respected
1:26:30her career choices.
1:26:32Which is a scenario that I have explored
1:26:34in my fan script The One After the Last
1:26:37One.
1:26:38Where Rachel has to give up her dreams
1:26:39in order to satisfy everyone who wants
1:26:41her to get back together with Ross
1:26:42again, Monica and Chandler are allowed
1:26:44to move away from the city and start in
1:26:46the suburbs despite everyone's protests
1:26:48about everything changing. It's
1:26:50difficult but it's right for them and
1:26:51it's ultimately a satisfying conclusion.
1:26:54I'm not as bitter about the finale as I
1:26:55used to be and admittedly they did do
1:26:57the groundwork necessary for reigniting
1:26:59Ross and Rachel in seasons 8 through 10
1:27:01and doing Parenthood the other way
1:27:03around is a great idea. You know, they
1:27:05have a baby together and then they
1:27:07realize they like each other and want to
1:27:08get together. I guess all of this stems
1:27:10from me being a bit of an awkward [ __ ]
1:27:12who when I'm told give the audience what
1:27:14they want would typically respond with
1:27:16wait, why do they want that and is what
1:27:18they want actually bad for them? Is
1:27:21Rachel giving up her dreams for a
1:27:23self-important narcissistic [ __ ]
1:27:25actually good for the audience?
1:27:26Audiences don't know what's good for
1:27:28them. Isn't this a bit like a situation
1:27:30where you got a kid who wants to eat a
1:27:31massive tub of ice cream for dinner and
1:27:33he's screaming at you for his ice cream
1:27:35and then you sigh really loudly and go
1:27:37fine, here's your [ __ ] ice cream. Who
1:27:39cares you get a ton of cavities you
1:27:40little [ __ ]
1:27:45Okay, yes that does sound bitter but it
1:27:48isn't
1:27:49because I said it isn't so shut up.
1:27:52Personally, I would recap Friends and
1:27:53have the show end with The One With The
1:27:55Morning After and have it come up with a
1:27:56caption that says this does not work.
1:27:59Take your medicine.
1:28:03This can't be it.
1:28:06Then how come it is?
1:28:20Anyway, in conclusion, all of this is
1:28:22why I think that while Friends might
1:28:24look like any old sitcom, its character
1:28:26arcs are just as interesting and richly
1:28:29textured as any respectable HBO box set
1:28:31drama of that era. The experience of
1:28:34watching it may feel easy going and
1:28:36brainless, but the construction of it is
1:28:38calculated incredibly well. So well that
1:28:41even when it does something that may
1:28:42seem stupid or reach a conclusion that I
1:28:45might disagree with, I can always see
1:28:47the thinking that's gone into it. It
1:28:49sometimes shoots itself in the foot when
1:28:51it comes to its relationship with an
1:28:52audience that wanted different things
1:28:54from it, but it's got much more
1:28:56integrity than most sitcoms of this
1:28:57period. And that is why it's left such
1:29:00an enduring legacy.
1:29:13Hi everyone, thanks for watching. If you
1:29:15like this video and want to see more
1:29:17things like it, why not consider joining
1:29:18my Patreon at patreon.com/stewbagfull.
1:29:22I'd like to thank these generous people.
1:29:25A Maxwell, Alister McPherson, Aniron
1:29:28Hunt, Chris Lim, Chris P, Connor Pape,
1:29:33Dave Saunders, Deneb, Jennifer Milligan,
1:29:37Joel, Joanna Kirkpatrick,
1:29:40Louise Wade, Matthew Brench, Max
1:29:43Kennedy, Michael Graham, Oxbow is Emsty,
1:29:47Pastel Witch, Robert Comley, and Ryan
1:29:51Scott.
1:29:52Thanks for watching.

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