Thursday, May 06, 2004
NO MORE FRIENDS!: This is my only statement on the subject, since I never bothered to watch the show more than three or four times in the entire ten year run: you people are out of your frickin' minds...
For the past few years, I've been catching these almost operatic promos for Friends on NBC, toxic levels of overhype, painting everything these people did as monumental, tear jerking, and (God give me strength) MUST SEE TV. I sat there with my hand trying to keep my jaw from hitting the floor, and always I asked myself the same question: this is supposed to be a sitcom, isn't it? I imagined applying this fly-swatting-with-a-bazooka hype machine to one of my favorite classic sitcoms. Some bombastic movie score-style symphony to get us in the mood, maybe a soprano wailing wordlessly in the background...then, an all-too-familiar melodramatic announcer kicks in:
"On radio's most important night, it's a very special trip down to Dugan's Lake with Mayor LaTrivia, as the struggle to catch Old Muley continues. (sound effect of a fishing rod being cast) AND A TRIP TO THE HALL CLOSET THAT WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS. (The orchestra reaches a crescendo, mixed in with the traditional mound of junk tumbling out, followed by a tiny bell.) Fibber McGee and Molly. Tuesday night at 9:30, 8:30 Central, on NBC. And stay tuned for President Roosevelt!"
Our ancestors were much simpler than we are today, so of course they would've laughed that crap right off the air and asked a more sensible question, "What's the quartet singing this week?" The real ad, if the copy writers ever decided to get that clever, would be more along the lines of "In these trying times, America turns to one program to bring it together...but enough about Jack Benny, tune into Fibber McGee..." There's a reason the British call it "light entertainment", you know. But I digress...
I missed the first years of Friends because I had a series of low-paying crappy jobs that kept me from the television on Thursday nights, and the last few years I've dodged on principle, due to the overinflated self-importance of the hype machine. $1 million per episode per cast member? No wonder they've plugged it like it was the second coming.
For those who bit the hook on all this, let me help you downshift your gears: It wasn't a television revolution. It wasn't a life-changing event. It was a goofy show about people who have perfect teeth, skin and hair, working at high-paying jobs in a city most of us will never live in. What's more, it's 30 minutes a week (22 minutes if you take out the ads) you get to have back now! Just because it's labelled Must See TV doesn't mean you have to watch. Get the hell over it.
Somebody else wrote an article taking a similar viewpoint to mine, but to be honest, she knows far too much about the show for someone who never watched it.
(As my "only statement" this will probably be revised when I have more time (and it actually was, late into the night)...as it is, I'm late for my latest crappy job...)
For the past few years, I've been catching these almost operatic promos for Friends on NBC, toxic levels of overhype, painting everything these people did as monumental, tear jerking, and (God give me strength) MUST SEE TV. I sat there with my hand trying to keep my jaw from hitting the floor, and always I asked myself the same question: this is supposed to be a sitcom, isn't it? I imagined applying this fly-swatting-with-a-bazooka hype machine to one of my favorite classic sitcoms. Some bombastic movie score-style symphony to get us in the mood, maybe a soprano wailing wordlessly in the background...then, an all-too-familiar melodramatic announcer kicks in:
"On radio's most important night, it's a very special trip down to Dugan's Lake with Mayor LaTrivia, as the struggle to catch Old Muley continues. (sound effect of a fishing rod being cast) AND A TRIP TO THE HALL CLOSET THAT WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS. (The orchestra reaches a crescendo, mixed in with the traditional mound of junk tumbling out, followed by a tiny bell.) Fibber McGee and Molly. Tuesday night at 9:30, 8:30 Central, on NBC. And stay tuned for President Roosevelt!"
Our ancestors were much simpler than we are today, so of course they would've laughed that crap right off the air and asked a more sensible question, "What's the quartet singing this week?" The real ad, if the copy writers ever decided to get that clever, would be more along the lines of "In these trying times, America turns to one program to bring it together...but enough about Jack Benny, tune into Fibber McGee..." There's a reason the British call it "light entertainment", you know. But I digress...
I missed the first years of Friends because I had a series of low-paying crappy jobs that kept me from the television on Thursday nights, and the last few years I've dodged on principle, due to the overinflated self-importance of the hype machine. $1 million per episode per cast member? No wonder they've plugged it like it was the second coming.
For those who bit the hook on all this, let me help you downshift your gears: It wasn't a television revolution. It wasn't a life-changing event. It was a goofy show about people who have perfect teeth, skin and hair, working at high-paying jobs in a city most of us will never live in. What's more, it's 30 minutes a week (22 minutes if you take out the ads) you get to have back now! Just because it's labelled Must See TV doesn't mean you have to watch. Get the hell over it.
Somebody else wrote an article taking a similar viewpoint to mine, but to be honest, she knows far too much about the show for someone who never watched it.
(As my "only statement" this will probably be revised when I have more time (and it actually was, late into the night)...as it is, I'm late for my latest crappy job...)
|| Eric 4:32 PM#
