Another day, another flurry of Friends reboot rumours, this time sparked by Jennifer Aniston announcing that she would be down for a reunion.
Jen appeared on The Ellen Show overnight, and when asked by Ellen if she’d be up for a reunion, said:
“Listen, I’ve told you this – I would do it. The girls would do it, and the boys would do it, I’m sure. Anything can happen.”
Jennifer Aniston is in for a "Friends" reunion. Anyone else? pic.twitter.com/Ro4jWBiZTE
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) June 5, 2019
She went on to say she’d be up for doing it by herself, which, tbh, does sound fairly entertaining: a one-woman Friends reunion, consisting of Rachel alone in the empty apartment, looking at old photos and crying.
Sorry, that got really depressing. Ellen and Jen’s version was far less depressing, as it consisted of Ellen moving in next door to Rachel, which would inevitably result in some wacky hijinks.
While a one-off reunion would be cute, with a look back at the show’s iconic moments, the cast talking about their favourite storylines, sharing behind-the-scenes gossip etc, the idea of reviving the show itself makes me break out in hives.
I’ve already made my feelings on reboots quite clear, as well as the fact that I think there’s simply too much TV to watch these days. With all the new and exciting stories being told, do we really need a revival of a fairly formulaic sitcom that hasn’t aged particularly well?
Don’t get me wrong – like most people, I loved Friends growing up. But I’ve watched an awful lot of comedy since, and my tastes have changed as a result. I still appreciate Friends for what it was, but it was very much a product of its time, and it wasn’t even particularly groundbreaking then – there are a few storylines that seemed reminiscent of episodes of Seinfeld, and Jerry himself agrees.
The show’s lack of diversity is one thing that stands out to modern viewers, and the show’s executive producer Kevin S Bright agreed that a few things would need to be tweaked to bring Friends into line with contemporary values. Monica’s fat suit or Chandler’s dad, anyone?
I can’t help but think that this cultural fixation on reboots is the result of a widespread inability to let things go. Shows that would have been perfect with just one season get dragged out indefinitely because producers want as much money as possible and audiences don’t want to say goodbye to beloved characters.
But we’ve already said our goodbyes to Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey (not Ross) – why ruin the show’s beloved ending by turning it into a ‘it’s not goodbye, it’s just see you later’ type of deal?
The only possible revival I’d be okay with is one that focuses on Rachel staying on the plane and having a fantastic life in Paris because she’s realised Ross is weird and sad and annoying.
But I can’t see that happening, so I think it would be best to let sleeping dogs lie. Let’s not imagine what it would be like if Joey got iPad or Gunther got Nespresso machines for Central Perk.
JERY ? GET ? IPAD ?
— Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld2000) November 16, 2017