A Critical Appraisal of the Television Show Friends
The series of “Friends” is an American sitcom, intended for an audience in their early 20’s and older. It was engineered to make an image of true existing friends in life. The main characters are Ross, Racheal, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, and Joey. The setting took place in Manhattan, New York City. The first episode of “Friends” aired on September 22, 1994, until the last episode aired on May 6, 2004. The show is fortunate in how successful it has become. Each episode of “Friends” came with life lessons that the audience can relate and learn from.
The aspect of the writing in “Friends” is well written and entertaining. For instance, Joey Tribbiani is a struggling actor, who loves food and woman. He is one of the most humorous characters in the series, and his personality captivates the audience. The dialogue of the show is written in a creative but comedic tone. For example, several characters have signature tag lines such as Joey’s charming, “How you doing?”, line, he uses to entice woman. The show also contains different conflict storylines from each character. Overall, the creative atmosphere of “Friends” is the reason why it is such a successful show even till this day.
The actors portrayed in “Friends”, convey realistic and believable acting skills. In this series, the audience is capable of knowing each character personally, because the show is capable of displaying each character’s personality, and it makes the audience feel closer to the actors and understand them. The actors are able to portray their characters personas effectively throughout the series of “Friends”. For instance, to name a few, Monica is the head chef at a restaurant, Chandler is a businessman, and Phoebe is a masseuse. So, as the audience you understand the characters’ likes and interests. In this instance, the actors may be more important than the writers, because they embody their characters. In other words, out of all the main characters, taking one away from the group, affects the show’s energy and enthusiasm. Therefore, the actor’s unique qualities make “Friends” as impactful as it is.
The overall quality of the series “Friends” is evident because, it’s as big today as it was when it first aired. The series has become timeless due to the way the storylines are relatable to real life situations. Such as when, Joey Tribianni needed money for acting lessons, and Chandler decides to help him out by giving him money. This series wasn’t only relatable with storylines; it also generated a craze with an amusing comedic tone, while also displaying serious and sincere moments. Such as Rachel and Ross’s turbulent relationship that kept the audience on the edge of their seat, dying to see if they were going to end up together. As for quality the proof is in the pudding with how universally loved the series is and still becoming as time goes on.
