Friends

I don't watch much TV, but one show I've seen more than I should admit is Friends.  It aired 236 episodes over 10 seasons (1994-2004), and I've seen each at least twice (I just completed my second marathon- which took months- yesterday).  At ~22 minutes per episode, that means I've spent 173 hours of my life . . . good grief . . . following this series.

Friends is a sitcom that follows (shockingly) six friends in their 20's and 30's as they navigate post-college life living in New York City.  You have:
- Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer): paleontologist, dork, and frequent divorcee
- Monica Gellar (Courteney Cox): Ross' sister, chef, and neat freak
- Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry): nobody knows what he does . . . but he's the funny/sarcastic one
- Phoebe Buffet (Lisa Kudrow): masseuse and the weird (but hilarious) one
- Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc): soap actor, player, and lovable dummy
- Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston): Monica's friend from high school, fashion designer, and pretty/ditzy one

The themes of the show are common to those in the post-college years: relationships, children, jobs,  hobbies, facing uncertainty in a time when settling is expected . . . and of course, the personality quirks of each character played a large role in the humor surrounding each.  Most shows/scenes were set in Monica's apartment (shared with several during the course of the show), Joey's apartment (across the hall), or "Central Perk"- the coffee store downstairs.  Some consistent storylines (like Ross and Rachel's on-again/off-again relationship) and cameo characters (like Janice, Chandler's lamentable old flame) provided a degree of continuity, but each episode largely stood on its own.

Though dramatic and emotional at times, the show never strayed far from its comedic focus.  Most episodes were done well, and it's easy to see why the show was so successful- by the last season, each of the six mains were making $1 million per episode.  It won many awards; deservedly so.  As with any show that runs so long, some episodes were better than others, and some running jokes could grow stale.  Still, by the last episode, I found myself unexpectedly emotional as (spoiler alert) they vacate the apartment that had been the show's centerpiece.   It was fittingly symbolic of the passing of 'innocence'- those post-college years- into 'true' adulthood and middle age.

Rating (for the entire show): A-