The one where I confess I don’t get Friends, and I probably never will…

I recently noticed that Netflix had all the series of Friends, available to watch. It’s been in the back of my head, that at some point I should probably try and watch it, again. So, over the past few weeks, I have faithfully been watching, from the first series, to the end… 

We all (ok, I assume we all know) about the series, where we follow the lives, loves and losses of 6 twenty somethings in New York, as they negotiate adult life and all of it’s realities, and their relationships both with each other and other people. Centered around a cafe, and where they live, we are supposed to relate to them, and laugh and cry as we follow their lives. 

Quirky Pheobe, kooky Chandler, Rachel who starts out ditsy but grows up, Ross, paranoid and inept, Monica with her OCD and Joey the charmer, who cannot act for toffee…

Why? You ask…

Here’s where I confess that I never really got or enjoyed the series originally, and despite faithfully watching all the way through, I STILL don’t really like or get it! Given the poll of opinions I took on Facebook recently, where I asked who liked Friends then and who still loves it now, it would seem I am in a TEENY, TINY, nonfunctional minority of people who don’t see what all the fuss is about. 

I can’t pinpoint a real reason. I get that there are bits of it that are really funny, I do, and I will admit to chuckling away at certain points, in particular episodes, and there are some heartwarming bits, of course and love stories and nail biter moments, but I just can’t see the charm or why everyone loves it. I get that Chandler and Joey are endearing and funny, I actually relate to Monica a fair bit. Rachel, I always found annoying, and I think I was the only person I know who didn’t copy her hairstyle. Phoebe is funny and Ross, well, he’s cute but hopeless. 

I just can’t see the charm or the point. A couple of episodes I vaguely enjoyed, but even now, almost 17 years after it finished, having tried to watch it and get into it when it originally came out (I am THAT old, and in fact watching it again, made me feel incredibly old) I still just don’t get it. I have tried, I promise. I am not sure I will ever be convinced that it was all that. I find it samey, repetitive, and silly, mostly, with the odd drop of humor or real life thrown in.

So, there you have it, my confession. You can all hate me now, and as I hit publish, I will run and hide from the vast majority of the population that will no doubt question my sanity and morals because, clearly, it’s me, not them…

I don’t think I will ever be a convert, you can try, but I think by now, if I was going to be convinced, I would have broken, and admitted it. I think, I am unreachable, and I will never love or get the love of Friends…

Or maybe you are with me, and you don’t get and didn’t get Friends and you sat watching it with your mates, pretending you liked it, then and you want to be part of the solidarity that is the minority now that still don’t like it? Feel free to join me… 😉