"'Friends' did not have an obvious precedent when it made its debut in 1994; neither did 'Roseanne.'" � The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley dissing today's TV sitcoms, which "can be neatly summed up as hybrids of past hits," while "past breakthrough comedies do not fit any such mold."
Quick! To the Wayback Machine!
"Friends" on NBC, is one of this season's trendy young-urban-single comedies that are trying to duplicate the success of "Seinfeld," and "Ellen." �Chicago Sun-Times, September 2, 1994
Two years ago, comedies were imitating "Seinfeld." This season they are imitating "Ellen" (formerly "These Friends of Mine"), which itself is an imitation of "Seinfeld." This is an illustration of the carbon copy school of programing, in which each imitation gets weaker, until the next new idea comes along to steal. --Newsday, September 5, 1994
Like ABC's "Ellen," it's a "Seinfeld" wanna-be, but without a Jerry Seinfeld - or Ellen Degeneres, for that matter -- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), September 11, 1994
Don't we have enough friends on television in shows like "Seinfeld," "Ellen" and "Mad About You"? � Buffalo News (New York), September 11, 1994
The new ''Seinfeld'' wannabe � The Houston Chronicle, September 22, 1994,
Look what Seinfeld hath wrought: Yet another ensemble comedy built around young people trying to find their way in the world. �Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada), September 22, 1994,
Oh, no, you might well moan, not another group of pals sitting around whining and nursing their anxieties, getting up once in a while to test the passing Zeitgeist � The New York Times, September 29, 1994
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what about Roseanne? She's right about Roseanne, isn't she? Um...
Barr's comedic bite is fast and refreshing, she's sort of a female Ralph Kramden for the 1980s. �The Toronto Star, October 9, 1988
To Ms. Barr's way of thinking, her show will be a New Wave ''Honeymooners'' �The New York Times, October 16, 1988
A blue-collar barrage of snappy rejoinders that tries to fall somewhere between "All in the Family" and Fox Broadcasting's "Married . . . with Children." �Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1988
A kind of feminist, working-class ''All in the Family.'' �The New York Times, October 30, 1988
"Hey, it's real, real revolutionary, huh?" sneers Barr, who fondly remembers a series called "The Honeymooners." The television press has swooned, but this critical mass thinks "The Cosby Show" reshaped the medium by recasting "Father Knows Best" with black people. �Newsweek, October 31, 1988
