Probably the last and the longest of the great network sitcoms

AlsExGal

score 10/10

Suffice it to say that Friends is a classic comic treatment of what I have always called the "post-college adolescent phase" of life, which is roughly the ten years immediately following college graduation as you strike out on your own and try to find your place in life. It is the time in life when you are likely to have the best health, the most freedom, the most disposable income if not necessarily the most total income, and the most fun if you are fortunate enough to have people to share it all with. This phase ends when you "settle down" both career-wise and family-wise, and I always found Friends to track this time in life quite accurately and with both drama and great humor.

It follows the life of six young people living in New York City from 1994 to 2004, so even now a few of the cultural references will be stale, but the relationship truths never will be. Ross is the nerdy guy who grew up to be a little uncomfortable in his skin but still very good looking. Ross' sister Monica is an aspiring chef who is now thin but was obese up until the middle of high school. Rachel has been Monica's friend since high school and is adjusting to life without daddy's credit card when the series begins, and is looking for a career in fashion. Chandler, Ross' friend since college, is successful in his budding career in business. Rounding out the group is Joey, not the brightest bulb in the room, who wants to be an actor and as a result works a series of odd jobs and stars in a series of odder commercials and the occasional appearance on a TV show. Finally there is Phoebe. Her history with the group doesn't go much past the beginning of the series as she's had a rather Bohemian upbringing that has led to a Bohemian adulthood. Complicating factor as the series begins - Ross' wife has just declared she is gay and left him for another woman, Ross now and always has had a crush on Rachel who doesn't know he's alive, and Ross' wife discovers she is pregnant by Ross shortly after the separation.

One of the best shows on TV with the most heart and the most laughs. Highly recommended.

AlsExGal 2 October 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2318628/