Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Phenomenon
Friends, the sitcom probably familiar, at least vaguely, to most of the educated world. “What strangeness is this, what manner of witchery?” Something that can so easily endear itself to the hearts of millions. Ranging from passion for some, to obsession for others, Friends has marked its place as a television Hall-of -Famer.Although I’m a fan of the show, I’ve never fully comprehended its magnitude until very recently. Now, in India we’re obviously off the NBC, CBS, ABC, LMNOP and whatever, radar, so what we get are reruns. Lots of reruns. So, one evening at dinner, (or supper, whatever…) Friends is on, Mom is at the dinner table, facing away, and I’m on the couch. Five minutes into the show, she suddenly looks around and says, “Oh, this is the one about Phoebe’s grandmother’s cookies!” What strangeness is this? What manner of witchery? This from a woman who was dining peacefully, apparently oblivious to the charms of the TV… In any case, I don’t recall an occasion when I’ve actually seen her watch a complete episode. What then, was it about the show, that imprinted itself so quickly in the mind of a mere observer?
I remember when I started watching. I was maybe, 16, refusing to get out of bed at 7 in the evening, while complaining of a stomach-ache. Mom dragged me out and sat me in front of the TV. “Here,” she said, “Take your mind off it.” Flipping through channels, I came across Friends after a bit. Now, at the time, this was a fairly ‘new’ show on Indian television, so I stopped to take a look. It was the ‘ballpark’ episode, where Richard and Monica count how many ex-lovers each has had. I haven’t stopped watching since. Season 9 has been rerun, I dunno how many times, but I haven’t stopped yet, even though season 10 is long gone.
Friends has its critics too, even on the show! No, I’m not gonna repeat what they’ve said…look it up. But I’ll always be a fan. Can’t really put my finger on what I like about it, though… the somewhat cheesy comedy of Joey, the obsessive Monica, ditzy Phoebe, “Dunno what I want” Rachel, awkwardly sweet Ross… or is it the satirical funnyman Chandler?
The reason, I guess, lies in looking at ourselves. There are six central characters, but each is multifaceted so that we all see a part of ourselves in one, if not more of them. Narcissistic as we monkeys are, we’re drawn towards ourselves. It’s nice to see ordinary people just like us, doing stuff we’d do too. Although I doubt that many of us would run through the streets chasing a bus, while carrying a baby carriage…
Strange though, how Mom figured in my first as well my most recent revelatory brush with friends… Of course, this is the same Mom who starts movin’ to Eminem’s Without Me and is a fan of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Go figure.
Authors note: I kinda fancy myself as a cross between Chandler and Ross. Rondler…?
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