Big Bang Theory Producer Names Worst Thing Friends Ever Did
Both The Big Bang Theory and Friends have become two of the biggest sitcoms to have ever aired on TV. And although they mostly existed through entirely different decades, they share a lot in common.
Yet there is one aspect of the hit comedy that 'sitcom veteran' and producer of TBBT, Eddie Gorodetsky, thinks Friends did which ruined sitcoms for a time altogether. Something which Big Bang, fortunately, went on to fix.
Eddie Gorodetsky has worked as a screenwriter and producer for over 30 years. And his credits include work on successful shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. So it's clear he knows a thing or two about sitcoms for sure.
It is in the book by Jessica Radloff behind the making of TBBT, that he reveals his opinion on how Friends accidentally broke the sitcom genre.
Although Friends started (and remains) to be a very successful show, Gorodetsky states it was its success which set an inaccurate standard for how a cast should look in a comedy TV series. Commenting on how good-looking everyone always appeared on the show, making it difficult for the audience to relate to its characters.
As he also points out, none of the main cast ever really suffered from money troubles or life issues. With maybe the exception of a couple of circumstances.
Of course, Gorodetsky does not criticise the Friends cast's talent at all. However, he observes that it set a habit for the sitcoms which followed suit afterwards. Shows he claims focussed more on the actors' looks than their ability for comedy.
Fortunately, he says this was something that TBBT worked hard to fix when it first aired in 2008. The idea for the show was to include a variety of characters who were not meant to be the most perfect of individuals. Each of them suffers their own degree of social problems and flaws.
Of course, this does not mean that the show did not have its own concerns.
Also mentioned in the book, is the number of moments, particularly in the earlier series, which are now deemed inappropriate. These include over-sexualising Penny as a character and other offensive jokes written for the show in some episodes.
Thankfully these moments appear less throughout the seasons, and now several years on they can look back and reflect on how the writing could have been more respectful.
Generally speaking, Friends and TBBT both certainly had some issues, but they also still hold their own as sitcom champions. Even 25 years after it first aired Friends is rated among TV's most-watched shows. Yet they stand as lessons to ongoing sitcoms of today. Demonstrating not only how to make a great series, but how to make it even better.