I Still Hate "Friends"

This year is the 25th anniversary for the hit comedy series "Friends." In a recent interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Lisa Kudrow admitted she doesn't watch reruns of the show.

That makes two of us. I despise "Friends."

In the fall of 1994 I felt hopelessly single, was a third-year teacher, and was living in an apartment with a roommate. We were in building K on the third floor to the right.

The only things that he brought to furnish our apartment were his bed and his dresser. Everything else was mine.

Then his girlfriend arrived. She and three of her friends moved into building N. He assured me that wouldn't be a problem, and he was right. It wasn't a problem for him. He liked having her visit, and she was always at our apartment.

I think the problem with long term guests is comfort. The guest is polite at first, but after a while they get comfortable in your surroundings. They begin to believe that they belong there, too. Eventually, they take over what they think is theirs.

It wasn't long before she started using my parking spot and leaving her curling iron in the bathroom.

Thursdays were the worst. For "Must See TV" night, my roommate and his girlfriend would make dinner for two, eat at the table, and then they'd hang all over each other on the couch while watching Friends, Mad About You, and then Seinfeld.  They'd laugh and laugh and laugh. Such fun.

I'd be alone in my tiny bedroom, sitting on my bed, eating takeout. A third wheel spinning in circles.

Of all the TV shows that I could hear from the living room, I hated Friends the most. The program revolved around six attractive people who were living in New York and were having problems you wished you had. They were my age; the actors playing Rachel, Joey, Chandler, and Ross could have attended the same high school as me. Why did those guys get to work in Manhattan when I ended up in Des Moines?

Even the theme song lyrics struck a chord:

So no one told you life was gonna be this way

Your job's a joke, you're broke

Your love life's D.O.A

That much was true. But then came the chorus:

I'll be there for you...

Wrong. The only friend I had there was sitting on my couch, watching my TV, and making out with his girlfriend. Sometimes he'd knock on my door and tell me to turn down my music because it was bothering her.

I moved out at the end of my lease. 

But that was 25 years ago. I'm happily married and our daughter is great. I do have someone who'll be there for me. So, you'd think I'd be over my grudge with "Friends."

Nope. That show still makes my skin crawl.