For a lot of people including me, 'Friends' was the introduction to international television. It was the first American show I watched and there has been no going back since then. A lot of people say that it hasn’t aged well, which might be true, but that doesn’t take away the fact that this show is still very important, people still love it and it played a huge role in changing how audiences viewed American TV.
The infamous reunion had been in talks for quite some time now, fans were going crazy to see their favourite stars together to relive those 'Friends' moments once again, and that’s exactly what we got yesterday!
The entire cast was together once again and we saw things from a different perspective now. They were not there to revive the characters, however, while doing their table reads once again, we could see why each of them was perfect for their role and why we can’t imagine anyone else playing them.
The reunion was indeed an emotional affair. If you are a 'Friends' fan, the moment David Schwimmer enters the set, you won’t be able to control your emotions, at least I couldn’t. The reunion dealt with everything that made the show so popular -- the fact that there was no single protagonist, the relatability factor that still persists, Rachel’s hairstyle becoming a worldwide phenomena and what not!
There was something quite heart-rendering in watching these people come together once again, watching their younger self on the screen, laughing at the bloopers and sharing that experience with all of us.
The montage of people from all over the world talking about how the show impacted their lives will make you relate so hard! For a lot of people, it's something that was there for them, like a family, when nobody else was. It provided a sense of relief and a safe space for such people and actually had an impact on their mental health.
You will also get a sneak peek into how the show was actually made, right from the idea of the show to casting and writing. The best part about the reunion was the cameos, no, not by those celebrities that we read about, but by other cast members!
The stars also shared their memories of the show. The crosscut from the actual show alongside the cast members doing the table read now gave such a nostalgic ride. It was good to see the creators talk about what went into making 'Friends' and what it was like when it became so huge!
However, one thing that the reunion didn’t really ponder upon was the problematic things it catered like homophobia and fat-shaming. Perhaps these are the reasons because of which people say that the show hasn’t aged well. But it was quite a fun ride and made all of us thankful once again for having experienced this gem of a show. Nobody who sees it can say that it wasn’t required.
