'Friends' fans: did the series ever jump the shark?

[orangeyeahthatsright]

And if so, at what point in the series?

For me I think the episode with Emma's birthday party was where it all started to feel really laboured. Although it had been getting there since the episode where Phoebe blagged her way into Sting's house, for me anyway.

(Side note: I know Friends hasn't aged well in some regards, but that's not really where I'm going with this thread.)

I think it became weird when Rachel would act clingy and OTT with new love interests, whereas Ross could get a new woman every couple of episodes.

It wasn't realistic to me that Rachel couldn't get into a proper relationship without Ross, and that Ross was a stud who was barely ever on his own.

I hated the Joey and Rachel relationship. I avoid those episodes now, it’s painful. I used to love Monica, she was hilarious, but by the end they made her character so loud she just wasn’t funny. And she was so boring.

And the fact that the brother was with the high school teacher on top of us! And that Phoebe returned to normal, and barely mentioned the children after that. No maternity leave funded by the brother, nothing!

Yes and both Phoebe and Rachel snapping back to pre pregnancy bodies without any mention of post birth effects...

They could have at least made an incontenance joke!

Oh yes they were!

Not forced for adoption but shuned and shamed.

A jumping the shark moment is if you watch then end of s6 the proposal then straight to s7 esp 1 Monica's thunder. It's supposed to be the same night but chandler has lost about 3 or 4 stones in weight!

They made a joke about his weight gain in s3 but no mention of it here!!

They should have made more of Phoebe's Gran. She was a good character. They laid bait with her thinking Einstein was her grandfather but never capitalised on that! Also it was never mentioned that she wasn't even her Gran (She was Montauk beach lady Phoebe's DD, not Lily's).

Also at the very beginning she said her stepfather was in jail (I'm assuming who raised her?) but in 10 years he must have been released? But never mentioned!

Also why never get Fran snr and Phoebe snr together?? Another potential good storyline missed.

Erica not know she was having twins... really?

That episode where Joey dated a girl who punched him. Just irritating!

Erica not know she was having twins... really?

But I personally don’t think that sort of thing matters, it’s just a plot device to give a great comedy moment when M&C realise. If everyone behaved like they do in real life, it would be harder to make things funny.

I agree that it got so exaggerated in the final few seasons, I still love it but it’s not the same.

We’re rewatching and last night it was the one where they have two parties for Rachel’s birthday as both her parents turn up. It’s a silly premise but so so well executed and still had us laughing out loud just brilliant

Exactly,it's a comedy series not a documentary.

I love friends, but the "trying too hard" elements for me in no order are:

1. Rachel and Joey, just no and unnecessary
2. Erica not knowing she was having twins (much of the Erica storyline tbh) and them then being boy and girl, it was so twee and forced.

Oh just the 2 actually but yeah the last series did feel a bit rushed to get to perfection and didn't do the 9 previous justice.

Phoebe's stepdad was mentioned around the time she married Mike, he was supposed to get weekend parole to give her away but stabbed someone in a yard fight I think.

For me, I mentally separate series 9 and 10 from the rest because it did get silly after that. Decent in places but the Joey and Rachel storyline was particularly awful.

@heartofglass23 did you grow up somewhere very religious? I had two close friends had babies and were single mothers in the early 90's.

They certainly weren't shamed or ruined. Both are now very successful women with good careers and comfortable lives and and have gone on to marry and have more children.

The babies they had have both grown up and have good careers and relationships if their own.

One of these friends became a very proud grandmother at the age of 49.

We've just finished rewatching it back from series 1. HATED the Joey/Rachel thing!

I know everyone hates Joey trying to speak French but it never fails to make me chuckle 😁

I don't know if it counts as jumping the shark but I can't bear the drama around chandler's proposal. Phoebe letting the ring get sold, Monica going round to Richard because she thinks Chandler won't propose... ugh it's just painful to watch

Rachel actually does make a passing tearful reference to loss of bladder control in pregnancy 😄 I forget exactly where, but she then covers it up by exclaiming 'it's such a magical time!' 😄

True. Imagine the backlash if that had been a male character punching a female!

Yep.

Well I was born to unmarried parents, as were many of my friends and it was and never has been an issue.

Frasier is 100x better than friends.

I loved Rachel and Joey together, they were funny and adorable and easygoing. Ross was awful, really Rachel should have had a restraining order after his toxic behaviour.

Loved Monica and Chandler at first but really she was better with Richard.

Also thought Phoebe belonged with David the scientist

Kids out of wedlock was fine in the early 00’s when Emma was born.

There was the odd bad episode. Emma's birthday being one of them but a lot of series 10 is still amazing. Dd1 went through a long phase of loving it and as she moved on dd2 started so it's been back on repeat in my house for the last 4 years. It's so familiar and anything else I'd have been fed up of long ago

The shark porn thing was very much ‘we have run out of ideas’ but I do laugh at Monica proposing she flails around in the bathtub making noises 🤣🤣

Ben was earlier though.

Rachel and Joey didn't work but I think that was the point and although it seemed wrong, without it there wouldn't have been the 'FAJITAS' episode which I love 😆.