Reviews on ‘Friends’

Reviews on ‘Friends’ - Kaled Ali

1- Link To First Review (PopMatters)

This particular review of Friends is interesting because of how the author, Nikki Tranter organizes the structure of her analysis of the show. At first, she begins with a quote from the show to give some introduction to her review and to give some explanation as to who the characters are. She critically analyzes the different parts of the show and then ends her review by looking at the show as a whole. In her analysis, she looks at the directors of the show, who the characters are and what they represent to television, and then looks at the show as a whole with all of the pieces (characters, directors etc).

2- Link to Second Review (IGN)

Despite representing the show fairly well (I would know, I saw every episode 3 times or more), I think that this review was weaker than the rest. Even so, it does depict what the show means to its viewers. The author, Eric Goldman sort of jumbles together his analysis of the show but does include some key examples at the beginning of what makes the show so great and why it is so important to American culture as a whole. He does talk about the show’s fans at the end of his review and juxtaposes them to his previous analysis of the show’s impact, particularly how the show has changed over the course of its 10-year run and some of the historical context during this run.

3- Link to Third Review (The Duds)

This is likely my favorite review of the TV show Friends, because the structure of the review is organized very well and the critique of each character goes in depth. Not one but three different critics, bringing more personality and different viewpoints on certain episodes of the show, review it. The authors analyze what is special about each of the Friends in the show. I think that when I do my review, it would be only be from the perspective of one author, Jessica Stark. The blog is set up in a way where the authors list the name, add an image or GIF that describes the characters personality, and then in terms of structure, each writer describes the character's significance to the show. At the end of my movie review, I can note how all of the character's personalities, actions etc tie together to form such a successful show.