Friends.
While Seinfeld is certainly overrated and hasn’t aged well, at least it had its memorable moments that still get talked about today (Mostly Kramer Hijinx, to be fair…)
- Kramer vs Kenny Rogers Roasters
- Kramer and the Rickshaw
- Soup Nazi
- 'They’re real…and they’re spectacilar"
- Mulva
- George saves the whale.
Just of the top of my head.
Friends, while popular, is ultimately forgettable generic sitcom crap. I struggle to think of any actual memorable moments other than “Pivot”
Seinfeld has worse jokes, but Friends has worse characters. But Seinfeld has by far the worst personnel involved in the production.
Seinfeld. One of the cringiest and unfunniest shows I’ve ever watched.
I am pretty neutral on Seinfeld being cringy, but Larry David later made ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’. That was cringy up to the point of being unwatchable.
I think seinfeld is worse. I tried to like it.
- Friends is pretty easy to understand, seinfeld feels like it’s somehow appealing to a smaller audience.
- Friends has a bigger cast and bigger sets - Seinfeld uses a tiny, though realistic, apartment, and the diner they go to feels more closed in. I don’t watch sitcoms for the realism so i think friends wins here because it’s better thought out.
- Seinfeld struggles to control his smile and laughing, and it makes it seem like he’s a comedian cinstantoy aware that he’s just playing a character or acting out skits he wrote. I think Friends has the benefit of the actors not, usually, writing their stuff. Also in Friends they eventually developed brilliant talent at riffing/ad-libbing, something which Matt Perry demonstrated from the get go and helped carry the show with.
Friends is worse.
Friends feels extremely bland and the characters just react to the misfortune events and the episodes are low stakes drama. Friends cant make the characters pieces of shit because the audience is suppose to like them. Seinfield seems like the characters are intentionally bad people and cause their problems and the show is intentional about the conflict being pointless drama. They are fine with people hating the characters.
I mean, to be clear, Always Sunny is essentially a remake of Seinfeld. They modernized the setting and took advantage of modern broadcasting standards, but the show really is just Seinfeld 2: Philadelphia Boogaloo.
But Ross is an abusive piece of shit.
I must have missed the abuse episode because from what ive watched of Friends it was a pretty mundane show.
Friends. Seinfeld is actually funny, friends is just good looking people.
But friends is more popular. I used to work for a streaming service and friends was constantly running. I think its a emotional support thing. People like to have it on in the background because they feel good from it.
But it really isnt funny. Its more like cozy. Like a soap opera but better than that.
Well, ol’ Jerry’s a zionist, so …
Seinfeld is great.
Lemmy sure is a tough crowd.
If only… imagine a Lemmy with Colin Quinn, Patrice ONeal and Greg Giraldo.
Friends.
In Seinfeld the characters are supposed to be miserable and you aren’t supposed to identify with them. People don’t go around trying to put on a Seinfeld persona (at least in my neck of the woods. If your area is different please don’t make me more depressed than I am).
The number of people I’ve met purposely styling themselves after Joey or Phoebe is depressing and it’s more accepted because they’re “normal every day likable people”.
Gag me with a spoon
Now think about the mapping between Friends and Jersey Shore…
As one that remembers watching NBC “Must See TV” Thursday nights in the 90’s, back then, Friends was more approachable as a twenty-something that identified somewhat with the idea that it’s ok to be quirky, laughable, and fun.
Now, I prefer Seinfeld. Say what you will about the cast, the show’s darker take wears better on the post 9/11 world.
It’s easy to pick on one or the other now, but having lived the era, and the era of TV that led to it, both shows made more sense back then.
Friends was a gratingly unfunny ode to shallowness and self-centeredness. The same would apply to Seinfeld, only less grating.
I enjoyed both when they were still airing, but I can completely understand why people watching them today for the first time wouldn’t. It’s one of those, “you had to be there” kinda things. Just like I probably wouldn’t enjoy watching The Beverly Hillbillies or I Love Lucy if I tried watching them today.
Can’t speak for the hillbillies but Lucy stands up, for the most part. She was a real one. It is funny seeing hers and Ricky’s separated twin beds for filming, though.
eh, they are different vehicles. friends sucks cuz its trite, common bullshit. seinfeld was actually interesting because for once the cast was supposed to be unlikable… they were all terrible people destined to be tortured by their own narcissism.
Trigger warning: criticism of popular media
Friends is an extremely boring and formulaic show, it just has handsome people in it and sometimes the ladies don’t wear bras. I much prefer Seinfeld, which was in a way revolutionary for sitcoms, and it can still be enjoyed today (the laugh track is unfortunate though). It definitely inspired It’s Always Sunny, another great show, whilst Friends inspired How I Met Your Mother… and you can draw your own conclusions from that. 😅
