“Friends” – The Show that will Live Forever

Photo illustration by Zoe Stewart

The 1990s are back thanks to some cleverly written sitcoms and popular streaming services like HBOMax.

Kalyn Cowger, News and Sports Writer

 

Have you ever watched a show that you were so attached to and loved so much, you watched it every day? Well, for many, and thanks to streaming services like HBOMax, that show is Friends. Friends is a show about a group of friends (hence the title) who go through some crazy situations together. Filled with laughter and romance, the show is still engaging people of all ages.

I can remember being so excited to watch it for the first time because everyone I knew loved Friends and always talked about it. My mom is one of the closest people to me who also loves this show. When I asked her about it, she explained how it brought back memories of college. “We used to all gather in the lobby because we only had one tv, and we would always get together and watch the new episodes every week,” she stated. Her favorite character was Rachel, played by Jennifer Aniston, who was good at fashion and was so popular she changed culture with her haircut, which became known as “the Rachel.” My mother’s favorite episode was “when another character named Ross wore tight leather pants and he ends up getting trapped in a bathroom. The leather pants would not go back up. And to make it even better, he was on a date and at his date’s house in her bathroom.”

As my mom was telling this story, just thinking about it made her laugh so hard that she started crying. I think that really shows how funny and entertaining Friends is.

My favorite character is Chandler — a very cute, sarcastic guy who is always joking and making people laugh. My favorite episode is “the one where they all turn thirty,” during which each explains what they did when they turned 30, and it was very entertaining and funny. I liked the episode so much, I watched it again immediately after!

Friends is not the only show from the 1990s that is becoming popular again; Seinfeld is another that has experienced more attention from a new generation of fans and was also one of Friends’ top competitors for viewers back in the day. Currently streaming on Netflix, this show is also about a group of friends who go through crazy situations. It was hailed “the show about nothing” because even a trip to a restaurant (The Soup Nazi episode) could make up the entire plot for an episode. During the 1990s, these two sitcoms dominated in terms of viewers and pop culture.

To this day, Friends and Seinfeld are still making people laugh, including many students who go to our school. If you have not watched either, I highly recommend subscribing to HBOMax or Netflix and watching them for yourself.