Well Im sure one or two coffee cups have been dropped (or tea cups for those accross the atlantic)
But how could I in good conscience let the occasion pass without at least peeking in?
In sheer laziness that's how!
I had thought of popping back into the group again but laziness stayed my hand. So it took the end of the show to make me move
For those of you thoroughly confused I used to inhabit this group pretty much on a daily basis eons ago (about 4-5 years ago)
I thought I would come back in and share a few gems (rhinestones???) of wisdom, some thoughts on the show, and check in on the denizens of ATF.
For those of you living in lower elbonia that have yet to see the end of season one Im sorry if what I discuss below will spoil the show for you even though I will not be mentioning any particular spoilers as I dont know any.
Why did I leave? What have I been doing? Why are you back? Are you staying?
God youre nosey arent you?
Well allright you deserve some answers dont you
Why I left
I was tired. I believe I left round the middle of the 6th season (and for the fact checkers out there please dont bother checking its not important), I was tired of all the flame wars, the bickering and the escalation of personal attacks. Frankly it was evident in all the newsgroups I attended and not just ATF and I'd become bored of whole lot of it.
What have I been doing?
I decided to check to see if the rumors of life beyond the computer were true or not (dont you believe it) I moved once, changed jobs twice and had several scandalous love affairs (most of thats true, you decide which parts)
I kicked around the chat servers for awhile and found them even duller than newsgroups, and currently Im kicking around MMPORPG's until they become dull.
For those of you who don't know what MMPORPG's are consider yourselves lucky.
Why are you back?
Sheeesh I told you up above pay attention
Are you staying?
Yes and No. Just long enough to see Friends go gentle into that goodnight. I wont stay past a week at most.
Between the time when ratings cancelled Cosby, and the rise of the reality show, there was an age undreamed of. Unto this, came Friends, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Comedy upon a chuckled brow. It is I, its chronicler alone who can tell you of this saga. Let me tell you of the age of High Comedy!
And it was an age of high comedy ....at least for awhile. Though IMHO (cant believe I remember these acronyms) the show jumped the shark (pirouetted the poodle???? double lutzed the elephant???? who comes up with these sayings?) around season five.
It was a particularly poignant show for those of us just out of college in the mid 90s. A group of 20 somethings with nothing to lose and everything to gain suddenly let loose from the parental purse strings and the chains of school and without a clue tackling the big bad world.
The NBC demographers must of keeled over with excitement. AN entire demographic age group at their beck and call.
The characters meshed so well and seemed so charismatic and personal that just about anyone could find someone to relate to on this show.
But all good things come to an end.
When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."
Maybe it was me getting older or the characters getting older or both. But around season five the bond began to fade. These people were no longer those carefree characters of yesteryear but just a bunch of new yorkers now. Suceeding making great lives for themselves, while outside the tv world the dot com crash was sending thousands of their real life peers into unemployment, terrorism had forced its way onto our shores, and many of those 20somethings found that relationships and marriages could not stand the test of time as they did on tv.
and now we come to the end of it. Must see Tv will try to fill the gap of course but its doubtful Matt Leblanc will be able to hold people's attention longer than a season with "Joey" He didnt before Friends and given NBC's history of spinoffs (ie seinfeld spinoffs) suggest he will.
And what of ATF? I suppose it will linger on of course. Discussing the finer points of friends, arguing what-ifs and what-nots.
I of course will go back to my MMPORPG till that gets boring hopefully by then something else will come up.