HBO Max Friends: The Reunion (1 Viewer)

[SamT]

 

[Tommy R]

I’d be WAY more interested if this was actually a scripted new chapter of the show with the characters.

I will watch it, but I’m not expecting much.

 

[SamT]

I think this is the only solution. Would it really be good, a new scripted episode with old characrters? Especially that some of the actors are struggeling with drugs and other stuff? That would be a very sad episode.

 

[Malcolm R]

Not really interested. I loved the show when it first aired, but have tried to watch a few syndicated episodes in recent years and just don't seem to enjoy it anymore.

 

[joshEH]

When John Mulaney had his terrible sitcom that I somehow could not stop watching, it turned out the one black character on it had never heard of Friends. When they explained the show to him, he said, "That's what that was? I thought it was the news."

...Goddamn, did that make me laugh.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Just acquired the series on BluRay, and have watched the first 3-1/2 episodes
(never watched the show before). Maybe I should figure out how to get streaming into my house- I don’t have to pay for HBO Max- I have the channels on my DirecTV.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I think this is the only solution. Would it really be good, a new scripted episode with old characrters? Especially that some of the actors are struggeling with drugs and other stuff? That would be a very sad episode.

I don’t keep current on celebrity news so I was unaware there were current issues. The preview really has me interested.

 

[SamT]

Matthew Perry is struggling with addiction. I mean it's nothing new, it was already ongoing and apparent during the show itself. You could see it on the show, his extreme weight loss and gain during seasons 3 and forward.

By the way, Courteney Cox looks so much better than few years ago.

 

[SamT]

 

[Guardyan]

I'm the type of person that can't watch a show from mid-season on and then go back and watch it from the beginning. I always have to start at the beginning. So you see: I'd never watch a show starting on season 3, or skip and/or miss some episodes. That said, I was a kid when this premiered, always had a ton of homework, plus other shows I was more interested in due to my age. But I knew what the show was about, I knew about the "Friends fever," and knew that the show was a phenomenon, so I planned to watch it someday especially if they released it on DVD - and that happened (!) but I sure would not buy them because those sets seemed so expensive to me. But a few years later streaming happened and I watched all 10 seasons in a matter of months. Did I like it? Yes. Did I had fun? I was very entertained while immersed in it. Did I find it revolutionary? No. Apart from some very clever jokes, I felt that I was watching mostly a romantic comedy.

I'm also not the type that craps on other people's passions because I may think they aren't "all that." But I sorta don't understand this never ending nostalgia for and about Friends. Do people miss the show or the people they used to be back when they watched it every week? Do they miss the excitement of waiting every week to watch a new episode? Do they miss the days of appointment television? What is it?

In 2016 they already had a reunion during the James Burrows Tribute special. Matthew Perry wasn't there, so I guess the reunion wasn't "complete" but still it happened. Now in regards to this HBO Max special what's nagging at me is this feeling that it seems like the cast can't move away from Friends, and that nostalgia makes it a much bigger thing than it ever was, and it also feels they never get to move on since people don't seem to let them move on. The actors are accomplished but not that talented: I don't think the show left them typecast for life... I just see them not being able to score other hits because - oh well - they are not that great at acting in the end. I can't tell you how many romantic comedies I've seen with Jennifer Aniston in that left me with the impression that she's always playing the very same character, over and over, with just different names.

This HBO Max Reunion - as splashy as it seems - just feels like a money grab and a way for them to make big bucks again since they probably haven't had the 22 million salary per season they got so used to anymore. I hope they save the money, invest it right, and put this "ermahgerd... Friends reunion" idea to rest once and for all. If creators think that a new scripted season could jeopardize the greatness of the original run, please respect them and move on. Be glad it happened and not sad because it's over.

 

[Johnny Angell]

This HBO Max Reunion - as splashy as it seems - just feels like a money grab and a way for them to make big bucks again

You do realize most tv programs are conceived, among other things, make money?

 

[Guardyan]

You do realize most tv programs are conceived, among other things, make money?

Oh my, if you hadn't told me that, I'd never know!

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I'd love to see it but I'm not getting HBOmax just for one show.

 

[Traveling Matt]

You do realize most tv programs are conceived, among other things, make money?

And this one really seems like it's intended to cash in on the revival nostalgia, except they're not doing an actual revival. Probably because not all the cast can do it, as has been said.

 

[SamT]

 

[AlexF]

Yup. Watched it.

Brought back a lot of memories from the show. You can definitely see how close the cast were with each other throughout the whole series.

Most of them were quite energetic and seemed to be really enjoying themselves, but one just looked far older than should have, and seemed to be struggling through chunks of it, sadly.

 

[ScottH]

Was never a huge Friends fan, but there is definitely a nostalgia behind it that was intriguing enough to watch the reunion. It was mostly about what I expected. I wasn't really interested in the "reunion" aspect of it, but I found the behind the scenes and casting stuff interesting.

Most of them were quite energetic and seemed to be really enjoying themselves, but one just looked far older than should have, and seemed to be struggling through chunks of it, sadly.

Yeah, Matthew Perry seemed completely out of it. Very sad to see. I was very surprised to see the blurb in the beginning that this was only the second time since the show ended that they were all in the same room together but now I wonder if it's because Perry is kind of the lone outcast of the 6.

 

[joshEH]

Finished watching the reunion yesterday. Even at an hour-and-45, it seemed a little short because of some of the editing choices, like we were only getting snippets of some much-longer conversations. My main takeaway was that Matt LeBlanc and Bruce Campbell should play over-the-hill brothers who are detectives, or something.

 

[Garysb]

This reunion was originally conceived to help launch HBOMAX and promote that HBOMAX was the new streaming home for "Friends" , one of Netflix's most popular programs. Covid 19 delayed the filming of the reunion until now.
The primary reason for the reunion was promotional. I guess we are lucky it wasn't canceled when it couldn't air when it was supposed to .

 

[ScottH]

I guess we are lucky it wasn't canceled when it couldn't air when it was supposed to .

Are we though?