Here at the Solid Signal Blog, the TV show Friends has proven surprisingly controversial. It’s a show that gained a surprising second life when it came to Netflix, and it’s a show that millennials seem to deeply love or deeply hate. I guess that makes sense since I’ve been on the fence myself.
Check it out
Earlier this year, I told you Ross is the worst. And, I stand by that. Even though the world of TV is filled with annoying neighbors, Ross’ casual misunderstanding of animal rights, treatment of the women he marries (which might have even bordered on the criminal) and let’s be honest — affair with a student — put him far above the rest of the pack. Yes, he may have legendary furniture moving skills, but the lad has serious issues too.
A few months later, I did a podcast where I talked about how the all-for-one strategy used by the cast in negotiations directly caused NBC’s near collapse a decade later. At one point this sitcom was one of the most expensive shows on TV and it didn’t have a single special effect. All it had was six overpaid genXers.
And just last month I did a 180. The cast may have caused financial heartache, I still agreed, but this podcast talked about how the show was bingeable simply because all of the cast stayed around until the end.
Clearly, for a relatively mindless sitcom, Friends has a lot to say about our culture. No wonder the millennials have taken to it. AT&T hopes they’ll keep taking to it, since it’s the lynchpin for the upcoming HBO Max streaming service expected to launch pretty soon. It won’t be long before HBO Max is the only place you can stream Friends and AT&T hopes you’re willing to pay for the privilege.
And now, this
A YouTuber took a clip of Marcel the monkey and duplicated it over and over with different songs. In the original clip, Marcel is addicted to playing The Lion Sleeps Tonight, but it turns out that you can put practically any song into the clip and it works. Don’t believe me? Play the video. Doesn’t matter if it’s Whitney Houston or Childish Gambino, the clip works.
Ross may be the worst, but he can dance. So can Chandler and Joey. It’s almost enough to make you forget that he’s holding onto an unlicensed and illegal primate while pining for his sister’s best friend. Yeah, he really is the worst.
