Friends

Friends is a show for all ages, and one that’s timeless.

I sat down to re-watch Friends this weekend, in honor of their upcoming reunion. I had already seen the show before, but the show itself carries so much nostalgia whether it’s your first or third time watching it, that it made virtually no difference. When you have ten wonderful seasons of a show, you tend to forget the beauty of season one. The initial shock of seeing all the characters in their youth, their personalities before any character development, and the places you’ve grown to know fresh on screen. I had forgotten so many plot points, jokes, and scenes that some aspects felt like watching the show for the first time. 

Nostalgia aside, is the show worth a re-watch? Friends was really the first sit-down sitcom, a show where you and your friends and family could turn on the TV and have a few laughs together, follow characters together, and bond over a feel-good TV show. But we’ve all surpassed the need for cable TV, with shows on every platform, just a few clicks away. Plus with an entire genre of comedy shows, what’s the appeal in seeing something you’ve already seen? I’ve seen so many shows I’ve lost track, so many I’ve had to use Netflix’s shuffle feature just to find something new. And still, I always find myself rewatching a show I’ve already seen, scenes that I loved, episodes with characters that I miss, and mostly for that overall feeling the show gave me, for the accumulation of the happy, sad, cold, and warm feelings. 

Friends, as a whole, is the definition of the perfect re-watch. Every episode has banter, every season has happy and sad feelings, and every character is so different, and somehow in all this chaos characters mesh so well together. It has the perfect amount of comedy, realness, and nostalgia. Plus, you get to see famous actors at the beginning of their careers, having the best time, full of hope for their future. If you’re considering a re-watch, go for it! That way you can watch the reunion (binge fast baby) and have some context, or just watch the reunion and start the show after. That seems like the logical thing to do. And if you haven’t seen friends before, start it now, so you can re-watch it in a few months! Also, what have you been doing with your life?