A decade ago our "Friends" -- Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and the rest of the gang -- entered our homes with their quirky attitudes and sexually uninhibited banter, and we've been addicted ever since. Whether it's laughing at Chandler in "the box" or watching as Monica finds out she can't ever have children, they've become like, well, friends. And so the end of their television dominance means more than just the ending of another show. "Friends" finale parties will be held, tears will be shed, and we'll have to figure out some other way to spend our Thursday nights.
And if that wasn't enough, two more popular shows are leaving this year as well, "Sex and the City" and "Frasier."
Gone are the days of those Crane boys, their dad and the much-loved Eddie, who graced our TV sets for 11 years. Now the phrase "I'm listening" will only be uttered in syndication. And as sad as that is, one must wonder what happens next. Surely there must be something beyond "Frasier." Maybe a "Cheers" spin-off about Cliff. Preposterous, I know -- nothing could be better than "Frasier."
And yet it's times like now, with the ending in full view, we sit and reflect deeply upon the nature of our viewing and its future. We ask ourselves, where will we go now?
After this season, with some of TV's strongest shows gone, the average viewer (you and I) may be stuck, drowning in a sea of lame reality TV shows. They are those reality TV shows that have caused the death of primetime as we know it.
So this has been coming on for years. With hits like "Survivor," "The Bachelor(ette)," "American Idol" and right now "The Apprentice," it's no surprise we've been overtaken by the genre. In fact, with 19 shows currently being aired (that's 21 1/2 hours too much), it's no wonder some are claiming there hasn't been a new hit sitcom since the arrival of "Will & Grace" in 1998.
As Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) told the Miami Herald, "This is the first television generation that has grown up being told it's the most fascinating thing in and of itself ... The arrival of the video camera, the home video camera, convinced every person who is now watching television -- at least in the important [youthful] demographic -- that they are the most interesting thing to watch. And I think that may be a problem.''
If we've ever needed proof to explain the observation that Americans are egocentric, we've got it now. The tendency of people to watch others like themselves make fools of themselves on air is not only way too self-indulging, but it's also just plain pitiful. There's nothing interesting about watching these supposed "normal people" thrown into a world of fantasy where they're all too eager to pass themselves off as being fascinating (an obvious lie).
Going from watching such television classics as "Mad About You" and "Fresh Prince," making fun of Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie shows us what's wrong with our over-the-top society, and gagging while people go on about the overrated Clay Aikens isn't satisfying.
Reality TV just doesn't compare to the classic hit sitcom. Normal people aren't witty enough to rival the hilarious dialogue one finds on "Frasier." Nor are normal people able to produce the quick one-liners, like on "Will & Grace," that we've all grown to love.
And we are left with very few choices. Sure, we still have our "Scrubs" on Tuesday, but without "Friends," Thursday night is not Must See TV. It'll be more like TGIF -- dead and forgotten.
Reality shows killed TV as we know it. And although next fall promises a whole new crop of sitcoms, it'll take years for the industry to recover from the loss of our "Friends."
Rosie Cisneros is a journalism sophomore. Reach her at rosie.cisneros@asu.edu
