February 11, 201015 yr Dirt was a strange one. In reality it was total crap - a terribly cliched view of the LA lifestyle, some truly atrocious acting/plotlines and it was absolutely nothing that hadn't been done before. But in some ways it was unusual and seemed to have a bit of a heart. The way Courteney's character was so protective of the guy who was Schyzophrenic or whatever he suffered from. But that wasn't enough to save it from being largely (and understandably) slept on. Jennifer Aniston hasn't done badly for herself at all. She's not done anything especially daring but films like Marley & Me brought in the bucks; she still has audience appeal (and my god, she looks better than ever lately. Those legs are astonishing!).
February 11, 201015 yr I remember being in a Media Studies class and getting absolutley hammered for NOT liking Friends by my teacher, she played a clip and asked who liked it, I was the ONLY one out of about 25/30 students to not put my hand up, and the teacher started shouting at me saying "how is it possible to not like friends?" You know, you'd expect a bloomin' MEDIA STUDIES teacher to be a bit more flamin' critical than that wouldn't you...??? :lol: I mean, the whole point of Media and Film Studies is to critically analyze what you watch/read/view online, etc.... A pretty fukkin' important skill when you think about how pervasive an influence the mass media is.... I mean, I could happily go an entire day without noticing any sort of references to Pythagorean Mathematics, Latin or 16th Century history, but you just try walking down a street without seeing some kind of billboard, TV screen, or other general media artefact... Utterly impossible.... We have news/tv 24/7 and it's in all our homes... You HAVE TO KNOW how to filter the real information from all the "noise" you are constantly bombarded with.... People think that Media Studies is a "cinderella" subject... Like FUKK it is, it's a pretty damned vital one in the 21st Century....
February 11, 201015 yr Nope, the show became annoying too... Unfortunately it seemed to become more annoying when it became this over-hyped cult.... And it didn't help when the actors thought they were somehow "bigger" than the show itself.... I mean, put it this way, just how successful have they actually been Post-"Friends"....? Jennifer Aniston has just been playing variations on Rachel in every film she's ever done, Matt LeBlanc's spin-off show "Joey" FAILED, what the hell has Matthew Perry done that's been any good..? Lisa Kudrow, not exactly setting the cinema screens aflame either... Courtney Cox, had some measure of success to begin with with the Scream films, but her big comeback show "Dirt" was a fail (even though it was actually not bad at all ironically. Obviously the Yanks couldn't handle seeing her playing such a vicious character), and, er, David Schwimmer???? Frankly, I'd say Friends has been a bit of a fukkin' curse for the actors... he has directed 'Run Fat Boy Run' starring Simon Pegg, I thought it was pretty good. You know, you'd expect a bloomin' MEDIA STUDIES teacher to be a bit more flamin' critical than that wouldn't you...??? :lol: I mean, the whole point of Media and Film Studies is to critically analyze what you watch/read/view online, etc.... A pretty fukkin' important skill when you think about how pervasive an influence the mass media is.... I mean, I could happily go an entire day without noticing any sort of references to Pythagorean Mathematics, Latin or 16th Century history, but you just try walking down a street without seeing some kind of billboard, TV screen, or other general media artefact... Utterly impossible.... We have news/tv 24/7 and it's in all our homes... You HAVE TO KNOW how to filter the real information from all the "noise" you are constantly bombarded with.... People think that Media Studies is a "cinderella" subject... Like FUKK it is, it's a pretty damned vital one in the 21st Century.... too right, it isnt exactly easy at all, the media studies department in my college is supposedly one of the best and most resourceful in the college, we all find it hard as f***. infact I was up until about 3 doing coursework for it last night, after spending since December doing it. basically anyone who thinks it is a doss subject (like my twat of an uncle who is so up himself that he think's it's more "advanced TV watching") can quite frankly f*** off. although thats a bit off topic lol.
February 11, 201015 yr Dirt was a strange one. In reality it was total crap - a terribly cliched view of the LA lifestyle, some truly atrocious acting/plotlines and it was absolutely nothing that hadn't been done before. But in some ways it was unusual and seemed to have a bit of a heart. The way Courteney's character was so protective of the guy who was Schyzophrenic or whatever he suffered from. But that wasn't enough to save it from being largely (and understandably) slept on. Jennifer Aniston hasn't done badly for herself at all. She's not done anything especially daring but films like Marley & Me brought in the bucks; she still has audience appeal (and my god, she looks better than ever lately. Those legs are astonishing!). You ever been to LA..? I have... Some cliches are actually true mate, Dirt's not really all that out-of-the-ballpark.... The LA lifestyle pretty much IS as vacuous and superficial as it appears on shows like Dirt, Nip/Tuck, etc.... I much prefer New York, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans... Cities with real character... The problem with Aniston is that she's hardly stretching herself... She may be successful, but she's only playing variations of her Friends character... Compare Jennifer Aniston to, say, George Clooney.. Who broke out of ER, and played roles as far away removed from Doug Ross as he could get.... Clooney is one of America's best actors and can play just about any role you give him, he's at least as versatile as Johnny Depp, that's for sure (another actor who broke out of a TV show coincidentally), and an emerging talent as a film-maker and writer too, there seems to be no limits to what the guy can do, a seriously talented, charismatic bloke but also the sort of guy who you could actually imagine having a few pints with down the pub... I've got a lot of time for Clooney, but none at all for Aniston... I had more time for Courtney Cox tbh, because she seemed like the one who really could break out and show her potential.... Really sad that it hasn't happened for her...
February 11, 201015 yr he has directed 'Run Fat Boy Run' starring Simon Pegg, I thought it was pretty good. That was okay, but not exactly Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz is it....? :lol: Needs summat a bit higher profile to be noticed.... George Clooney on the other hand has directed two VERY good films - "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Goodnight and Good Luck" (which was Oscar/BAFTA nominated), and one not-so-good - "Leatherheads".
February 11, 201015 yr Cox is now in Cougar Town. Which seems to be doing quite well. I keep meaning to get into CT....
February 11, 201015 yr Schwimmer did a voice in Madagascar which was very successful. He's is my favourite anyway, Band of Brothers :wub: Matthew Perry did "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip" which was good judging from the 2 episodes I saw, was cancelled after it's first season though, I hope to see that in full when I get the chance.
February 11, 201015 yr Schwimmer did a voice in Madagascar which was very successful. He's is my favourite anyway, Band of Brothers :wub: Matthew Perry did "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip" which was good judging from the 2 episodes I saw, was cancelled after it's first season though, I hope to see that in full when I get the chance. oh yes he was good in Band of Brothers (which is f***ing amazing in general, i'm looking forward to Hanks and Spilberg's follow up this year 'The Pacific').
February 11, 201015 yr The thing with the Friends cast is that they've all been completely typecast now so it's going to be harder to find work, or at least roles in big-name or big money films. (Also Matt Le Blanc has gotten fat/grey and lost all of his 'looks' which are largely what carried him and got him the Friends role, and Lisa Kudrow has aged very fast too.) Still, I'm sure they're all content with directing/exec producing various things (as all except Le Blanc and Aniston have if I'm not wrong) and living off the money they made during Friends. They became institutions practically, across the world. I can barely recall another show where the core cast has become household names globally. So many hundreds of millions of people loved them.
February 11, 201015 yr The thing with the Friends cast is that they've all been completely typecast now so it's going to be harder to find work, or at least roles in big-name or big money films. (Also Matt Le Blanc has gotten fat/grey and lost all of his 'looks' which are largely what carried him and got him the Friends role, and Lisa Kudrow has aged very fast too.) Still, I'm sure they're all content with directing/exec producing various things (as all except Le Blanc and Aniston have if I'm not wrong) and living off the money they made during Friends. They became institutions practically, across the world. I can barely recall another show where the core cast has become household names globally. So many hundreds of millions of people loved them. This is very true. Friends was such a phenomenon - Le Blanc is only ever going to be Joey, Perry only ever Chandler, Kudrow only ever Phoebe, etc. Even Jennifer Aniston, the most famous one out of them, is never going to be able to just shrug Rachel off. They became famous on the level of A-list Hollywood stars, which is frankly one hell of an achievement for a TV show. I'm kind of glad and said this is finally coming to an end. It's been long overdue in many ways - it was completely ridiculous that E4 had so much of it's weekly schedule taken up with a show that finished 6 years ago. On the other hand, I find with Friends that it's one of those shows you really can watch over and over again. And I really cannot explain it - it's not the most belly-achingly funny show ever made, I wouldn't class myself as a Friends super-fan, but it still doesn't seem to get old even when you KNOW the script almost off by heart. I can't think of a single other TV show where I can say the same, although maybe the Simpsons would come close. There's just something very warm, cosy and almost comforting about it. Like Friends has become a key symbol of civilisation or something. I don't know. I'm not being very articulate here.
February 11, 201015 yr Shoat i completly agree with you and understand what you are saying, and like yourself i dont find friends laugh out loud funny its more a show that i simply enjoy watching if that makes sense.
February 12, 201015 yr I remember being in a Media Studies class and getting absolutley hammered for NOT liking Friends by my teacher, she played a clip and asked who liked it, I was the ONLY one out of about 25/30 students to not put my hand up, and the teacher started shouting at me saying "how is it possible to not like friends?" Seriously unprofessional. Unless your teacher qualified it by saying "Friends is an example of passing off mediocre jokes and vaguely amusing witticisms through the mouthpiece of attractive actors and with a pre-lobotomised studio audience who will literally laugh at anything. It is designed to appeal to the masses without actually having any real appeal." Try this: Watch an episode of Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace or whichever flavour of the month comedy is being shown around the clock on awful satellite channels. Keep two tallies - one for every time the audience laughs and one for every time you physically laugh yourself. At the end compare the numbers. The people in the Friends audience must spend their entire life laughing at everyday events. Friends Audience Member: Can I have a pint please? Barman : That'll be £3 Friends Audience Member: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
February 12, 201015 yr Although I don't always laugh out load at Friends, it puts a smile on my face which makes it a pleasure to watch. Goodbye Regina Falangie
February 12, 201015 yr To be fair I don't think you can really lump Friends, or even Will & Grace, in with the "flavour of the month" comedies. Friends was a long-running phenomenon.
February 13, 201015 yr You really do yourself and your points of view no credit by being too brazenly lazy to even give us your argument. You may as well not have posted.
February 15, 201015 yr Such a shame, although i've the boxset i still like to see being played , memories anall that :P
February 16, 201015 yr It won't be right not seeing it on T4 in the Morning/E4+Channel 4 in the Evening. When ever there is nothing on, FRIENDS is always the answer. It's brilliant and never gets old.
February 17, 201015 yr Seriously unprofessional. Unless your teacher qualified it by saying "Friends is an example of passing off mediocre jokes and vaguely amusing witticisms through the mouthpiece of attractive actors and with a pre-lobotomised studio audience who will literally laugh at anything. It is designed to appeal to the masses without actually having any real appeal." Try this: Watch an episode of Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace or whichever flavour of the month comedy is being shown around the clock on awful satellite channels. Keep two tallies - one for every time the audience laughs and one for every time you physically laugh yourself. At the end compare the numbers. The people in the Friends audience must spend their entire life laughing at everyday events. Friends Audience Member: Can I have a pint please? Barman : That'll be £3 Friends Audience Member: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Rather brilliantly put Richie.... I have to admit that even when I actually liked the show, I barely raised myself past a smirk or a titter.... Certainly there were never any belly laughs.... ..Unlike Frasier or Cheers which could honestly have me in absolute stitches sometimes.....
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