I've still never seen an episode of Friends. I'm tempted to start with this reunion edition, and then work backwards, watching them getting younger and younger.

I just want a Phoebe movie

As someone who has no interest in Friends, this was interesting to watch.

Basically the same thing happened with the Inbetweeners a while ago - where they marketd a reunion, but it was basically the cast talking to Jimmy Carr for 2 hours instead of an episode. Though to be fair, about the only interesting thing that I could think of for an actual Inbetweeners Reunion episode was "Jay meets with the gang 10 years later but is still as immature as he was in school and drags them back into teenage shenanigans despite having careers and families now" and then I realised I could just watch The World's End. Reunions are difficult beast

This is a really good companion piece to your original TV dissection of Friends which is one of the mist thoughtful and considered pieces on a much discussed show

They will never let friends die it will be 2040 and the cast will have a reunion in wheelchairs

You're not the only one who disliked the ending. Ross repeatedly devalues Rachel's job throughout their relationship... yet she gets off the plane and gives up her career in France to be with him? That's the "happy ending"? And Phoebe really seems to give up a lot of what makes her unique to be with Mike.

Well Phoebe did talk about going to the airport to try and steal a plane only to turn around because "It's raining. I don't like to fly in the rain" So yeah that last one could've well happened off screen for all I know

does anyone actually like James Corden, I mean seriously his jokes feel lazy, but he seems to be in a ton of shows for some reason?

The mystery that is James Cordon continues... is he real or is he a robot that 'they' program to host things... is he a tulpa created by all of our mental energy so we have someone to sing in cars with celebrities... or are we the ones living in James Cordon's matrix machine where he has us watch him interview celebrities... We have no choice... we must satitate him, all hail Cordon and his glorious regime

Growing up, unless it was a really old sitcom like Happy Days or the like, I always watched Friends and The Simpsons. So weird to think it's been this long since they were last on the air, especially with how often it still gets reruns.

People- "you either love friends or hate it" *No, I'm completely indifferent towards it*

Wait, it wasn’t scripted?!?! No wonder it made the opposite of a splash when it actually landed.

Anyone else think that after Lady Gaga singing should have ended with Phoebe brushing her hand at it and saying “no, too much. Too much” then finish herself

If you want to review a sitcom that is going to age oddly then I recommend reviewing Drake and Josh. There is allegations of it's creator being a terrible person. The two stars of the sitcom have currently taken different paths in there careers, one got re-casted in a role Tom Hanks did while the other one is in prison.

I really struggled to keep watching the part where a bunch of fans talked about how friends saved their lives. Its just the creators wanking about the importance about their creation

The star-power behind this really was needless. I didn't mind the Smelly Car segment so much, but even that went on a little too long. Some of the studio bits like with Ross/Monica's parents were nice. But yeah, the bits on the recreated sets and interviews with the creators are what made it worth watching.

I love the ending idea of a documentary where it slowly becomes something reveals it’s from an alternative dimension with a darker fate.

My favorite part was the actual real fans around the world talking about what the show Friends meant to them.

I was more of a C.H.U.M.S fan myself

It occurs to me that you are the only person I've subscribed to that regularly talks about television. It's been so long since I've actually watched television that this is like an entire KZfaq channel dedicated to an alternate reality fiction.

When I heard that (A) it wasn't an episode and (B) James Corden was involved, I just couldn't bring myself to watch it. On the plus side, Lisa Kudrow has aged very well. The guys, not so much....

I could never bloody stand Friends. I tried but it rapidly irritated the crap outta me sadly.

I really enjoyed the recent Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special.

Couldn't agree more, perfect review. Looking forward to your next one!

I want to see a version of Friends with all of Stu's dark made-up scenarios.

One character I want to see in the Covid-19 pandemic is Adrian Monk.

Why is James Corden

For the random celebrity commentary, I agree that it shouldve been the celebrity who actually cameo'd. Like Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Julia Robert, etc. like the show actually have A listed artist there, but instead they casts this random famous people who had nothing to do with the show like?? Is it too expensive to get commentary from them? Are they just casts anyone who willing to do it for free? I just don't get it 😩 also they shouldve focus more on the 6 casts interaction alone, the "talk show" bit is awkward af, and yes I would like to have more unseen behind the stage footage pls :') its the most intresting part of this whole reunion tbh

Might I suggest (re-) watching the animated sitcom "Daria"? I just feel like it could do you some good. It's a late 90s/early 2000s show and while there was nonsense going on in the world back then, it's at least nonsense you can be nostalgic about today. And without a 2021 filter partially consisting of musings of arbitrarily picked "celebrities" (shudder).

If they got Paul Rudd, it would have been good to have him tell the story of Matt LeBlanc convincing Rudd to try out his new Segway. And as soon as Rudd gets on, he loses control and runs over Anistons foot, to the complete freakout of everyone there, as people thought he had broken her foot.

> The one where Phoebe hijacks a plane and holds everyone hostage at gunpoint I presume that was a season 8 episode that got pulled from reruns because of the Twin Towers? I don't think I remember the original broadcast. But... now that I think about it... I'm sure that _must_ have been an episode. Haha yes, good old Pheebs. Do you know if a tape of it still exists? I'd quite like to watch it someday.

Yeah, the Friends reunion was never going to live up to the hype everyone had for it in the years leading up to it. That's not to say it shouldn't have happened, it's just sad that it was grossly mismanaged. To be fair, before the Parks and Recreation reunion everyone would've wished the Friends special would've been like the Seinfeld "reunion" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Which I personally think would've worked better for the Friends reunion.

The stick figures of the main six Friends seem to have bigger eyes than everyone else. Was that deliberate? If so, what does it mean? Are they wearing masks? Were the F•R•I•E•N•D•S ever human at all?

Yes I too feel ancient knowing it ended almost 20 years ago. 😳

Does anyone know if there’s an edit of the Friends Reunion with James Corden removed and replaced with some sort of large amorphous blob? I’d watch that.

Sounds like 99 percent of channel 5's shows

11:50 idk how you made a stick fingure look so much like Dua Lipa

1:52 “I don’t wanna sound ungrateful…” why not? It’s not like they did this out of goodwill, they did it to make money and couldn't even be bothered to try

In retrospect, I always feel Pheobe's suicide jokes in Friends must be upsetting for those who have been affected by it. There's a lot of darkness in Friends everyone chooses to ignore

Ross and Rachel were so trash, let's be honest they deserved each other and only each other.

The only sitcom reunion that can rival the parks and rec reunion would be a community movie, #sixseasonsandamovie

Yeah, I think any of the talking head segments should only have been guests on the show. And also basically have no host to the thing. There was an almost reunion not so long ago, so it's quite irrelevant to have it play out again with the exception of the difficulties of Marcel.

Corden needs a personality transplant. He’s another Ellen. His time will come.

good to see Craig Owens being a TV host now

i havent seen th reunion, does it say about jennifer aniston being in quantum leap?

Cheeky question and not strictly on topic. Where can I see the Parks & Rec reunion episode in the UK. Ideally legally but it’s not a deal breaker. I just can’t find it.

It's just that the cast of Friends are familiar to us as FRIENDS in some parasocial kinda manner, where as James Corden is known for being really annoying, so it's a visual clash already

Saying that having segments that are basically “do you remember the one where ___?” Is antithetical to the point of Friends as a shows isn’t just a bad opinion, it’s flat out wrong. That’s literally the way every episode is titled.

Great inteligent review that wins 50 points for Gryffindor for name dropping Chris Lumb at the end! #smallworld

Immediately lost points because it was introduced by James Cordon. I cannot stand the man.

But James Corden was in a sitcom that was actually good. Even he was good in it! He IS a good actor, just not a great writer for comedy.

I am convinced Rachel should have paired off with Joey and Ross have paired off with Phoebe. That was the trajectory of the series. However, they wanted to do the spin off series with Joey, and he had to remain single, so money got in the way of narrative truth.

Wouldn't it have been interesting if Rachel didn't get off the plane because she was sitting next to Joey.

I bet you’re great fun at parties poster?!😂

I'm not a fan f Friends at all but I felt tremendous sympathy for those that are fans when I saw that James Corden would be involved.

Unrelated, but have you seen the web of fear animation teaser. It's the worst-looking animation yet.

they were friends? oh.

I never liked friends. I dunno what it is but American comdies leave me cold

The parts were its just the cast crew, creators, and fans looking back on the shows creation, filming, and impact was very good. All of the talkshow stuff with james cordon was horrible.

I was dumb enough to think the reunion would actually be a continuation of the story and not some variety show bullshit

2:15 Yes! I am glad that someone else feels the sane way about Ross & Rachel. I hated them as a couple.

I didn't really like the reunion... Felt a bit forced and yes, James Cordon just made it worse! I was dying for an in- character reunion episode, so THAT reunion we saw was just so disappointing to me

James corden is about as welcome as a trip to the dentist.

I blame VH1.

The fact that they added a boy group just because one of them learned English from friends.... what terrible filler.

lol i literaly googled the thing with the joe sex cult and it was only one line where joe says: "he's in a cult" sooooo wtf random celebraty

so many ppl believe Rachel shouldn't have gotten off the plane. That's not a special opinion. With Ross already joking about the break right after she left behind her dream to move to Paris it's obvious they relationship has no long future, a few months at best

It should have been Trevor Noah.

that MGK drawing :')

Poor Matthew

I just can't like friends anymore, so I don't really care about the reunion that much. The fat shaming, transphobia, sexism, ableism and shitty behaviour just sours it for me. Good for people who can enjoy it, but I always just ignored the bad feeling I got when watching. I don't feel like I have to do that anymore

7:04 did he bring Brad Pitt up?

1:22 WHY OH WHY did you get James Corden to front this 🤦‍♀️ He’s hated in Uk 🇬🇧

Never couldve picked you for a Freinds fan in a million years, I totally ignored Freinds when it first came out in the 90s, I thought it was just another bog standard 90s sitcom about relationships which I couldnt relate to, I was into Seinfeld, now in 2021 Ive had to endure repeats of Freinds which play before I watch another show and so I have seen just about every episode as a matter of circumstance....and I still dont see why it's so lauded, seems to me they got alot of fame because they used Hollywood A list actors for guest spots and because eventually Jennifer Aniston married Brad Pitt which kept her and by default the show itself in the zeitgeist of the American consciousness but the dialogue is very very plain and I definitely cannot stand David Schwimmer's whingy whiny voiced portrayal of Ross, he's a nasty possessive character who Rachael never shouldve indulged for a second and his voice alone puts me off the show entirely. I do like Pheobe though she was the only interesting character.

Sounds like an awful channel 5 top 50 things show. Ergh.

Nobody has ever liked James Corden

I love Friends, I'm in the middle of rewatching the series, BUT never seen this reunion episode. I got no interest in it. It's not an another episode of Friends, so get off it.

This is probably the worst reunion any sitcom did in the last 10 years.

I really like Corden, I think he has talent, and he's a good interviewer. Some of the carpool karaoke episodes have shown some deep personal sides of some of the celebs, and James always handles it very sensitively.

I hated friends