The One About Friends Turning 20

It may not have swept The Emmys or changed the landscape of sitcoms, but twenty years ago today six coffee drinkers in New York made our world happier. And hey, can we BE more grateful?

Yup, Friends premiered on NBC twenty years ago today, and I don’t know about anyone else – but that is mind boggling to me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never really known a time when Friends wasn’t on TV, it ended it’s ten year run on May 6th 2004, but still – TWENTY YEARS AGO!? I demand a recount.

I don’t need to go into what the show was about because we all know, but what may be surprising is that when the show premiered in the 8:30-9:00pm time slot it garnered a 14.7 in key demo in the Nielsen ratings. And 22 million viewers over all. To put it in perspective, today’s biggest sitcom The Big Bang Theory pulls in about 20 million total viewers a week but garners a 6.2 in the key demos – and it’s that key demo, my friends, that makes the money! What a difference twenty years makes, huh? (And no, I don’t mean that as a slight to BBT, I am merely pointing out the difference in audience so please don’t tweet your hatred at me.)

Friends has managed to stand the test of time, and I can’t think of another show that is quoted so much across generations, still in heavy rotation in syndication, and still really enjoyable this long after its premiere. Many will argue Friends was never a ground breaking show, and I’ll agree, it wasn’t a 30 Rock or an Arrested Development, it was just a sitcom. A sitcom that struck a chord with millions, and millions of people, and you know what? That’s fine. Not everything is meant to be absurd, or quirky, or self referential – sometimes all we want is to be entertained, and Friends still entertains.

To honor the show Comedy Central here in the UK aired the top twenty episodes chosen by the nation, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Let me know in the comments your favorite Friends moment, and if you’re commemorating the day in any special way.

What’s my favorite episode, you ask? Any involving flash back sequences with Fat Monica, and Rachel’s original nose.