I Love This Show
I do. I love this show more than I should logically love any 9o's sitcom. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the fact that it acknowledges that life sucks sometimes and when you're an adult every year brings a drastic new set of changes, yet still gives you hope that everything's going to turn out okay. Yes it has problems. Yes, the New York City portrayed in this show is not the New York City that exists in reality. I don't care.
Don't believe me? Scoff at my enthusiasm for an admittedly dated show? Maybe two or three beers will change your mind.
Don't believe me? Scoff at my enthusiasm for an admittedly dated show? Maybe two or three beers will change your mind.
"Drinks": The Rules
Drink beer. One thing we noticed while watching the show is that the characters rarely drink anything except beer. Except maybe Phoebe when there's an open bar.
Our posterchild, basically
Easy Mode
1. Drink for Title Drops (every time they say "Friend" or "Friends"). Title cards count.
2. Drink when they drink.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues.
4. Drink when someone moves to a new apartment.
5. Drink when someone goes to the hospital.
6. Drink when someone starts a new job.
7. Drink when someone enters a new relationship. Not necessarily a serious relationship.
8. Drink when someone has sex or mentions having sex. This happens more than it really should for people with their lifestyles.
Medium Mode
All of the above rules apply. Also...
1.Drink when someone has a baby. If they have more than one baby, drink for each baby.
2. Drink when you see someone at their workplace.
3. Drink when one of the main characters goes on a date.
4. Drink when a new character is introduced. We shouldn't have seen them before, and they should be formally introduced by one character to another.
5. Drink when two or more characters get in a feud. A feud is a fight that lasts for at least half an episode, usually involving revenge play or drastic actions taken to make a point.
Hard Mode
1. Drink for celebrity cameos. They didn't have to be famous at the time the episodes were shot.
2. Drink when someone loses something. This can be anything from a job to car keys.
3. Drink when a relationship ends. Drink twice if it's Ross and Rachel's relationship.
4. Drink for weddings. Drink twice if it's Ross's wedding.
5. Drink if someone goes to an airport.
Most of the rules in this game are based on life events instead of anything the characters say or do. You're marking achievements along with the characters, getting happier with each victory and sadder with each loss.
1. Drink for Title Drops (every time they say "Friend" or "Friends"). Title cards count.
2. Drink when they drink.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues.
4. Drink when someone moves to a new apartment.
5. Drink when someone goes to the hospital.
6. Drink when someone starts a new job.
7. Drink when someone enters a new relationship. Not necessarily a serious relationship.
8. Drink when someone has sex or mentions having sex. This happens more than it really should for people with their lifestyles.
Medium Mode
All of the above rules apply. Also...
1.Drink when someone has a baby. If they have more than one baby, drink for each baby.
2. Drink when you see someone at their workplace.
3. Drink when one of the main characters goes on a date.
4. Drink when a new character is introduced. We shouldn't have seen them before, and they should be formally introduced by one character to another.
5. Drink when two or more characters get in a feud. A feud is a fight that lasts for at least half an episode, usually involving revenge play or drastic actions taken to make a point.
Hard Mode
1. Drink for celebrity cameos. They didn't have to be famous at the time the episodes were shot.
2. Drink when someone loses something. This can be anything from a job to car keys.
3. Drink when a relationship ends. Drink twice if it's Ross and Rachel's relationship.
4. Drink for weddings. Drink twice if it's Ross's wedding.
5. Drink if someone goes to an airport.
Most of the rules in this game are based on life events instead of anything the characters say or do. You're marking achievements along with the characters, getting happier with each victory and sadder with each loss.
The Players
Our onscreen players are Krissy Pappau (me), Pooh Daddy, and The Fuzzy Masked Man. They were asked to name their favorite character from the show.
Our offscreen players are...
Sandy B'Drinkin: She totally knew life was gonna be this way. (Medium)
Shirley Whiskas: She'll not only be there for you, she'll help you plot revenge on whoever did this to you. (Hard)
Could this intro BE any longer? Let's get started!
Sandy B'Drinkin: She totally knew life was gonna be this way. (Medium)
Shirley Whiskas: She'll not only be there for you, she'll help you plot revenge on whoever did this to you. (Hard)
Could this intro BE any longer? Let's get started!
I Miss the Nineties
This show's major problem is the fact that half the references don't make sense anymore. In "The One with the Cuffs", Rachel extorts a Walkman from Chandler as he's handcuffed to a desk in her boss's office. In "The Ick Factor", Chandler and Ross make fun of Monica's younger boyfriend by implying that he watches "The Power Rangers" and "The Muppet Babies" (both of which will probably be reviewed by me at some point). Nobody has a cell phone that doesn't look like this.
Even worse: Ross has a beeper.
It's not really ever a problem...usually. Most plots can be wrapped up in much the same way with present technology included. But there was something that threw us: every screen shot included a pan over downtown Manhattan, notably the Twin Towers. They're even in the opening credits.
Fair warning, the rest of this section isn't going to be very funny.
The year of September 11th, 2001 was the year of "Friends"' 8th Season. We didn't watch any 8th season episodes when we playtested this game, but I still know what happened to the characters as a result of this event: nothing. I know it's a TV comedy and it's sometimes awkward to shoehorn political or historical events into a network television show, but when so much of the show's content is derived from a group of people living in Manhattan who are otherwise very up to date on current events, it's a little jarring to notice that their lives didn't change at all.
Maybe that's why the characters seem less relatable in later episodes. We subconsciously think of them as shallow and self-centered because the drama in their lives is so much less important than the struggle real New Yorkers faced. The show's happy, bouncy version of New York wasn't applicable anymore. Or maybe this sense of diminishing returns comes from the show trying harder than ever to fulfill the expectations of sitcom viewers, to become an escape from the real and relate a fantasy for half an hour.
Okay, back to the funny.
Maybe that's why the characters seem less relatable in later episodes. We subconsciously think of them as shallow and self-centered because the drama in their lives is so much less important than the struggle real New Yorkers faced. The show's happy, bouncy version of New York wasn't applicable anymore. Or maybe this sense of diminishing returns comes from the show trying harder than ever to fulfill the expectations of sitcom viewers, to become an escape from the real and relate a fantasy for half an hour.
Okay, back to the funny.
Look at Chandler's hair! Who has hair like that? Right?
Sex, Sex, Sexy Sex
The blog Splitsider compiled a chart detailing the sex lives of our six main characters over the course of ten seasons (you can find that at http://splitsider.com/2011/07/the-sexual-proclivities-of-friends/ ). Chandler came in at dead last with nine sexual partners. That is just above the AVERAGE number of sex partners men were reported to have in the 1990's.
Let's clarify: Chandler is the sexual loser out of his group of friends, has a nine-to-five day job, is famed for his awkward, anti-social tendencies, and is STILL having more sex than the average man. And he's having half the amount of sex that Joey's having.
Let's clarify: Chandler is the sexual loser out of his group of friends, has a nine-to-five day job, is famed for his awkward, anti-social tendencies, and is STILL having more sex than the average man. And he's having half the amount of sex that Joey's having.
I'm all right, Mr. Tribbiani. How YOU doin'?
So guys, the sex rule? That's the rule that you have to watch out for. They'll sleep with anyone. Their secretaries, their friends' siblings, their friends' co-workers, college students, high school students...
Oh, yeah, there's that one awkward episode where Monica bags a seventeen year old. But she also dates Tom Selleck for a good long while, so I guess it evens out. Maybe.
Oh, yeah, there's that one awkward episode where Monica bags a seventeen year old. But she also dates Tom Selleck for a good long while, so I guess it evens out. Maybe.
Rowr.
Ross' Lost Days
Ross Gellar is a ridiculous person.
In the four episodes we watched, we saw most of the characters at work at least once, especially Monica and Rachel (drink!). Joey we didn't see working so much, but he's an actor and his lifestyle is inconsistent at best.
Ross is a paleontology professor. He has a set schedule during the week. Apparently, however, he has more free time than anybody else. In "The One with Ross's Library Book", Ross spends whole afternoons patrolling the school's library, making sure that nobody tries to make whoopie in front of his only published book (drink!). Doesn't he have papers to grade?
In the four episodes we watched, we saw most of the characters at work at least once, especially Monica and Rachel (drink!). Joey we didn't see working so much, but he's an actor and his lifestyle is inconsistent at best.
Ross is a paleontology professor. He has a set schedule during the week. Apparently, however, he has more free time than anybody else. In "The One with Ross's Library Book", Ross spends whole afternoons patrolling the school's library, making sure that nobody tries to make whoopie in front of his only published book (drink!). Doesn't he have papers to grade?
"I wanna fool around in front of books in a library!" -Shirley Whiskas
But the saddest moment is during "The One with the Proposal (part 2)", when we see him sitting in his apartment alone watching a documentary about the extinction of the dinosaurs.
"Awww, what happened, guys?" he sighs, beer in hand, truly despondent.
"I'd like to think this is how Ross spends most of his time," remarked The Fuzzy Masked Man.
Ross STILL has more sex than Chandler!
"Awww, what happened, guys?" he sighs, beer in hand, truly despondent.
"I'd like to think this is how Ross spends most of his time," remarked The Fuzzy Masked Man.
Ross STILL has more sex than Chandler!
Oh. Well. Maybe I get it now.
Chandler and Monica! Chandler and Monica!
From a random draw of 237 episodes, we got to watch the two part season 6 finale: "The One with the Proposal". To this day, I consider this one of my favorite television episodes of all time. Pooh Daddy had never seen it before. I'm glad I got to share this episode with him.
Chandler gets an engagement ring for Monica and it's awesome that they're getting married because they were friends for years and then slept together and found out they really liked it and then they fell in love, but Monica's ex-boyfriend Tom Selleck comes back and tells her he's sorry he ever let her go and he proposes, but Chandler's pretending that he doesn't believe in marriage so Monica will be surprised when she sees the ring, so Monica's confused and has a drink at Tom Selleck's apartment, but Chandler finds out and panics and confronts Tom Selleck, who gives Chandler his blessing so Chandler goes back home and Joey tells him he's too late and Chandler's heartbroken and he goes inside his apartment and there's lit candles everywhere and Monica's crying and she starts to propose to Chandler but can't keep it together so Chandler finishes for her and now they're engaged!!!
(deep breath)
I'm calm now.
Sandy B'Drinkin remarked before we started watching that what makes "Friends" special isn't the writing or the plot, but the characters. This episode is a prime example of what a sitcom has the power to do. This story would have meant nothing if we hadn't spent six seasons learning about these two characters, how they functioned, and how much happier they were together than apart.
Chandler gets an engagement ring for Monica and it's awesome that they're getting married because they were friends for years and then slept together and found out they really liked it and then they fell in love, but Monica's ex-boyfriend Tom Selleck comes back and tells her he's sorry he ever let her go and he proposes, but Chandler's pretending that he doesn't believe in marriage so Monica will be surprised when she sees the ring, so Monica's confused and has a drink at Tom Selleck's apartment, but Chandler finds out and panics and confronts Tom Selleck, who gives Chandler his blessing so Chandler goes back home and Joey tells him he's too late and Chandler's heartbroken and he goes inside his apartment and there's lit candles everywhere and Monica's crying and she starts to propose to Chandler but can't keep it together so Chandler finishes for her and now they're engaged!!!
(deep breath)
I'm calm now.
Sandy B'Drinkin remarked before we started watching that what makes "Friends" special isn't the writing or the plot, but the characters. This episode is a prime example of what a sitcom has the power to do. This story would have meant nothing if we hadn't spent six seasons learning about these two characters, how they functioned, and how much happier they were together than apart.
AAAAAAAAAAA
And Then the Clothes Came Off
I was sitting on the floor so I didn't see this happen, but I did hear a flurry of activity behind me.
"Shirley, did you just take off your bra?" The Fuzzy Masked Man exclaimed.
"Well, none of them are wearing bras!" Shirley replied, then took another drink and mumbled something about cup sizes.
Was this a thing in the 90's? Women not wearing bras? I wasn't even in training bras then so I honestly don't know.
I mean, nowadays, girls don't even wear shirts on television.
"Shirley, did you just take off your bra?" The Fuzzy Masked Man exclaimed.
"Well, none of them are wearing bras!" Shirley replied, then took another drink and mumbled something about cup sizes.
Was this a thing in the 90's? Women not wearing bras? I wasn't even in training bras then so I honestly don't know.
I mean, nowadays, girls don't even wear shirts on television.
Don't worry. We'll get to it.
The Results
After watching four episodes of Friends, we were asked to sing the theme. We'd been singing it all night, and got progressively more off-key as our BAC's got higher.
Our neighbors must hate us.
This was a pretty chill game. I'm not sure I would add any rules though, because these were all fairly easy episodes. I played this game again later with a different set of episodes and got much different results. But if you did want to add some rules, here's a couple to think about.
This was a pretty chill game. I'm not sure I would add any rules though, because these were all fairly easy episodes. I played this game again later with a different set of episodes and got much different results. But if you did want to add some rules, here's a couple to think about.
Drink for 90's References
This show's chock full of nineties and early 00's references. These people are also twenty years older than we were upon air time, so a good substitute would be Drink for references you don't understand.
Drink for Episode Title Drops
Turns out nobody really says the word "Friend" all that much on this show. But they do say words in the episode titles. This show's especially good for this rule, because THE TITLES DESCRIBE THE PLOT OF THE SHOW.
Take a shot when they take shots
An extension of the "drink when they drink" rule. We weren't sure what to do after Phoebe downed an ounce of vodka. So for future reference mostly, join them. Remember to make eye contact!
Thanks again for reading guys! Join us this time next week for another great drinking game! I leave you with a great stand-up routine by Rob Paravonian.
Thanks again for reading guys! Join us this time next week for another great drinking game! I leave you with a great stand-up routine by Rob Paravonian.
Be sure to follow us on twitter @KrissyPappau for updates and other chatter.
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