TV Interlude: FRIENDS

Last night, I settled in for the final episode of Friends. I circulate the seasons at night because I am so comfortable with the show, and know it so well that I literally can stay up and watch or fall asleep comfortably to the sound of their voices. Either way, I feel like it is running through my head constantly. But I stay away from two episodes like the plague because they will make me ball like a baby. The first is the break up episode in season 3, “The One with the Morning After,” (yes I know, it’s pathetic that I know the names of the episodes). Anyone who has ever been cheated on knows that it is a feeling that you don’t want to relive, and every time I watch this episode all I can think about is the jerk who broke my heart. It feels just like that too, you are exhausted all the time and that person is forever changed in your mind, tainted somehow.

The other one is “The Last One” because, well, it’s the end of something, and lord knows I don’t deal with endings well. It is perfect in the fact that it is not actually sad at all, the jokes are well times as usual, the plots wrap up the way you want them to. But for some reason every time Rachel shows up and says “I got off the plane” tears stream down my face. It’s the perfect ending to a ten-season story. It is the ending that we dream for, but seldom get. It is bittersweet, wonderfully entertaining television. 

I am a firm believer in the fact that Friends episodes can solve any problem, if you stay away from the above mentioned episodes for the above mentioned reasons. It’s never not amusing to see Monica in a fat suit, or watch Chandler be girly, or see Ross sport the worst fake tan in the history of the world. Flashbacks are always good stories, and some of my favorite episodes are about nothing,  like the one where they are all just trying to get ready to leave (season 3), or the one with Unagi. The genius is that you can walk in on any episode and feel like you understand and are invested. If you are a diehard like me, by the end of the series these characters were so well developed, in depth, and quirky that they really did feel like friends. You knew how neurotic they were and it made them all the more endearing. 

If you’ve never given it a chance, you should. I have hooked so many people on this show I can’t even count.  The writing is quirky and heartwarming, and no matter how many times I watch these episodes I want more. It is the only show that I have ever felt that way about, and it is the only show that I haven’t gotten annoyed with characters or bored with story lines (I’m a tough critic).

Fav description: 6 normal people. No Sex. Bad Jobs. Hit Show. Go Figure. I guess some things are just meant to be. 

Noteworthy: Still making an impact, here is a recent Friends article that I adore:  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/05/friends-oral-history-top-of-the-rock?mbid=social_retweet

TV Interlude: Mad Men

Working for an ad agency makes it essential to watch this show, though I have to say that I don’t get it because at my job I am surrounded by so many women it’s funny. But we are also small scale, so fighting for recognition is a little different. Still, it was demanded of me that I find out what this series is about and, though I am not caught up yet, I have a few thoughts…

First off, the genius of the show lies in the fact that Don Draper is a dog, I mean a truly awful person, but for some reason you root for him. Even when he is trying to hook up with girls that aren’t his wife, like the Jewish store owner in the first season, I’m secretly thinking “come on, just give him a chance.” Weird considering the fact that the reason I dislike most of the other characters is because they are consistent cheaters. 

It is this dislike of the mousey Peggy, and the slimy Pete that makes me want to skip their storyline completely. Is it just me or do they both just constantly whine? It’s the fact that I feel so bad for her and the other wives that I listen to Betty’s woes. They are silly and trivial, but the poor girl can’t help it. I am, however, intrigued by the Barbie-like Joan, who seems to have the whole feminist act down pat. She uses her sexiness the way that many girls do at bars now-a-days, so intentionally and purposefully that the male counterparts don’t realize how manipulative she is. I wonder if guys today have caught on yet. 

The acceptance of cheating and of this lavish lifestyle that the ad men led has me hooked though. I want to see if they will destroy their careers, because, despite it all, they are mildly talented. It is amazing that these lifestyles were the norm in the 1950’s, and that the wives of these men put up with it as much as they did. The tangled dishonest web is hidden by an outer image that is glamorous and wonderful and that is why, I believe, people are hooked. We want to see what will break through. 

I’m only the first season in, so I have yet to make my final decision. 

And, because I bore easily, look out for more TV interludes in the future.