Friends - Season 10

[Trekker4747]

Ok, so as I said in an earlier thread I couldn't arsed to re-bump, I'm watching through Friends on DVD, and I'm about to finish it now. And, well, I'm wondering what other fans of the series think about how this one ended.

As series fianles go, Friends ended on a good, high, one but overall I think it's disapointing how the Ross & Rachel arc was closed. I think fans of their ship were shafted with not getting to see Ross and Rachel's wedding, something they could've done by expanding the truncated 10th season into a full one (or moving around the plot arcs to make the whole 10th season about their wedding. Of course, that'd mess up the arc with Charlie and Joey dating Rachel -which we're better off without, IMHO.)

But, overall, this still remains one of my more favorite series and while I didn't like how the characters' various "quirks" became exagerated as the series wore on, I don't think the series ever really had a "low" period and never really "jumped the shark."

 

[T'Baio]

I think it finally and completely jumped the shark when Joey fell in love with Rachel. the series was still funny, but as a plot point it was retarded.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think it finally and completely jumped the shark when Joey fell in love with Rachel. the series was still funny, but as a plot point it was retarded.

Yeah, if there was a "jump the shark" moment that was it, thankfuly that arc was fairly short. The early s10 episode with them trying to have sex was just odd. I didn't buy their rommance at at all, and think that time would've been better spent, as I said above, putting Ross and Rachel back together and having their wedding. But it really seems cheap that Phoebe and Tertiary Character Mike get a wedding but the relationship that pretty much drove the first half of the series didn't.

 

[spinnerlys]

I recently (some months ago) watched some episodes from the ninth and tenth series and thought that the actors portraying those friends were actually tired and bored doing the series, especially Matthew.

Other than that I found I Friends to be a really uncourageous sitcom, ever since I discovered Coupling and re-watched that series three times and could still laugh, especially knowing what would come next.

 

[RoJoHen]

I managed to watch Season 10 on DVD a while back, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. I remembered thinking it was fairly mediocre season when I watched it the first time around.

As for the finale, I enjoyed it. I did not feel shafted at all from the Ross and Rachel ending. Maybe it's just my experience with real life people, but I see no reason for them to ever get married, and I certainly didn't feel like I was cheated because we didn't see it happen. I just liked that they finally decided to be together.

 

[Jetfire]

I got the complete series box-set and watch it from start to finish all the time. I notice when 2 of the friends are set up as a couple...Ross/Rachel, Monica/Chandler the rest of the characters seem to suffer because alot more is going into those 2 characters. IMHO.
The 10th season felt rushed to me. I remembering seeing Phoebe's wedding for the first time and being disappointed...the more I see it though I am ok with it.
The finale was great but it was missing something, for me anyway. I wish the show could have kept the magic it had the first 4 seasons in the final 4 seasons. When FRIENDS was on TV I hated it with a passion...but now It is one of my favorite TV series

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I kind of lost touch with the show towards the end, but I have filled in on a little. I agree Rachel/Joey was a silly waste of time. All sit-coms eventually get hack in their writing and exaggerate their characters quirks for cheap laughs, but they really went overboard with Monica. She was just a shrew at the end.

 

[Trekker4747]

I kind of lost touch with the show towards the end, but I have filled in on a little. I agree Rachel/Joey was a silly waste of time. All sit-coms eventually get hack in their writing and exaggerate their characters quirks for cheap laughs, but they really went overboard with Monica. She was just a shrew at the end.

It really is interesting how much they exagerated the quirks. Considering I've watched through this whole series over the last 2 weeks or so the exagerations stand out more.

Ross went through a fairly typical, quiet, sheepish nerd to just shy of being a raving lunatic with no sense of social decorum.

Joey went from a slightly dim man to someone who probably should be living a home somewhere with nurses helping him use the bathroom.

Phoebe went from a fairly "typical" flighty nautre vegan chick to a complete nutcase.

Monica went from an obsessive woman with minor OCD to a shrieking shrew with debilitating OCD.

Chandler, honestly, probably changed the least. At least, not for the worse. He "grew up" mostly even though his sarcasm probably got more severe as time went on.

Then there's Rachel. Her change was probably the "best" as she went from a spoiled rich girl to a successful career mom.

I think Ross, Monica, Joey and Phoebe's "character traits" are the ones that mutated the worst. Ross started off as a man I could identify with when he was the meek nerdy guy but then he ended up as just a complete tool. Monica, cripes, she must be good in bed because her shrieking obsessivness would get irritating and while Joey was never "smart" early-series Joey you could atleast believe was capable of dressing himself. Phoebe just became a complete loon.

Overall though, I still think it's a good, funny, series even considering how much the characters changed (for better or worse) from S1/S2 to the end. And Chandlner never fails to make me laugh. I owe by own biting sarcasm to him.

As for post-series, I'm not sure why they went with Joey to do that. Though I'm not sure what everyone was doing towards the end of the series, I think a better series would've been one centered around Monica and Chandler and their babies. "The Bings" I think would've been more interesting.

 

[Jetfire]

I think part of the magic FRIENDS had early on was it felt real & it was funny...it then turned into a cartoon...still funny though.

I wish the characters would have stayed the way they were in S1/S2...just growing up through the years.

I don't know what this says about me...but out of all the characters I could see myself being friends with Phoebe & Joey...maybe Chandler too.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think part of the magic FRIENDS had early on was it felt real & it was funny...it then turned into a cartoon...still funny though.

I wish the characters would have stayed the way they were in S1/S2...just growing up through the years.

I don't know what this says about me...but out of all the characters I could see myself being friends with Phoebe & Joey...maybe Chandler too.

I could totaly see myself hanging out with Chandler and Joey.

 

[ALF]

This show peaked around seasons 3-6. The marriages and babies made it nearly unbearable.

 

[RoJoHen]

This show peaked around seasons 3-6. The marriages and babies made it nearly unbearable.

I was okay with it, but these are typically issues that ruin sitcoms. Especially Rachel's baby Emma...she must have some awesome grandparents that really love babysitting!

 

[Trekker4747]

This show peaked around seasons 3-6. The marriages and babies made it nearly unbearable.

I was okay with it, but these are typically issues that ruin sitcoms. Especially Rachel's baby Emma...she must have some awesome grandparents that really love babysitting!

They had a hot lesbian nanny, who they were apparently using 24/7 .

 

[Keith1701]

I recently (some months ago) watched some episodes from the ninth and tenth series and thought that the actors portraying those friends were actually tired and bored doing the series, especially Matthew.

Other than that I found I Friends to be a really uncourageous sitcom, ever since I discovered Coupling and re-watched that series three times and could still laugh, especially knowing what would come next.

I just started watching it and it is a very funny show.