Torn To Ribbons

3.6 - “The One Where I Watch The One With The Flashback”

26/11/2017

0 Comments

 
previous
next
Autumn 2014:
I have a goatee and am unaware of my half-brother.

Britain is facing a crisis. Recovering from a recession, it is headed by an unpopular Conservative leader propped up by a smaller party.

It is VERY hot in Australia.

There’s turmoil in the Middle East.

In America, a President with big ideas is hamstrung by lack of government support.

So much has changed in the last three years!

Autumn 1993:

Britain is facing a crisis. Recovering from a recession, it is headed by an unpopular Conservative leader. UK Politics is rocked by sleazy allegations against male MPs. There’s tension over the border in Ireland.

It is VERY hot in Australia.

There’s turmoil in the Middle East.

In America, a popular Clinton presidency is gaining ground after beating a billionaire populist]. Clinton lowers taxes for many, raises them for the richest 1.2 percent, increases checks on gun ownership, and has ambitious plans for healthcare. LGBT rights of military personnel take a step forward. JUST like now (if only…)

Chandler has a goatee, and Phoebe is unaware of her half-brother.

 “The One Where Nothing Ever Changes”

Janice asking the Friends™ who’s slept with who has taken us back. Not to which Real Live Friends I nearly slept with (admittedly, as with the Friends™, there were some near misses, and some not quite misses). But to a simpler time…

A simpler time, when the cinema had overblown CGI infused franchises no one wanted.
Long awaited sequels no-one wanted.
And classics about misunderstood tortured geniuses
A simpler time when I didn’t have a secret half-brother.

A time when Joey thought Chandler was gay (on at least three occasions I’ve got months into a friendship before they realised I wasn’t gay).

Now the show has built up a bit of history we can have a lot of fun here, back in 1993. Jokes laced in dramatic irony are bouncing off us (particularly regarding Ross’s lesbian wife), and there’s room for cameos too as Mr Heckles makes a welcome return (R.I.P).

The episode keeps playing with our expectations about who is going to get with who (the big twist being Phoebe and Ross), and its fun imagining how things could have been, oh, so different.

What if Joey hadn’t been a little too keen with Monica and they’d still been together 2 years ago? Or what if the moment between Chandler and Monica had led to something more… #Spoilers

Or what if I’d met my brother in 2014?

I’ve been trying to work out whether anything really has changed in the last three years.
Judging by Facebook™ the only thing different for me was that I was in a different job and seemed to be a lot angrier about politics. (Oh, and the whole "getting engaged" and "having a secret sibling" things.)

I’m shocked to find so many things that only seem like they happened yesterday. The Shia Le Beouf Song.
The time I fell asleep when we went to see Evita. (Well, me falling asleep during something could be anytime…)

And I’m still livid about things I have no control over!

Terrible Christmas ads…
The unnecessary deaths of badgers…

Childhood heroes killing themselves and leaving us questioning why.
Sure there’s getting engaged. But the only change getting married seems to bring about is we’re spending a lot more time planning a wedding than before.

We were promised hoverboards, dammit.
WHERE ARE OUR HOVERBOARDS?!?!

Real Live Sitcom Moment:

As the festive season heats up, it becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy everyone.

I almost couldn’t attend Rachel Number 1 and Ross Number 2s engagement party due to a prior commitment I had to duck out of. And I’ve let down Joey Number 1 as his new housemates have decided to have a party on a day I can’t make.

I imagine in a sitcom I would somehow try and do all these things, no doubt with hilarious consequences. Going through 2014 Facebook™ has made me feel rather melancholy, seeing photos of fun nights out with people I haven’t been able to see for ages. At least these clashes make it clearer who’s most important to me. It’s certainly making getting together the Wedding Guest List easier!
PREVIOUS
NEXT
FIRST
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    One mans quest to watch all of the classic 90s sit-com Friends™ in real time over ten years.

    Mostly updated every other Sunday.

    The one where it all began

    The latest one.

    The One Where You Donate to Share the Friends™ Love

    Home

    About


    Episodes

    Season 1
    Season 2
    Episode 3.1
    Episode 3.2
    Episode 3.3
    Episode 3.4
    Episode 3.5
    Episode 3.6
    Episode 3.7
    Episode 3.8
    Episode 3.9
    Episode 3.10
    Episode 3.11
    Episode 3.12
    Episode 3.13
    Episode 3.14
    Episode 3.15
    Episode 3.16
    Episode 3.17
    Episode 3.18
    Episode 3.19
    Episode 3.20
    Episode 3.21
    Episode 3.22
    Episode 3.23
    Episode 3.24
    Episode 3.25
    Season 4
    Season 5
    Season 6
    Season 7

    Archives

    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017

    RSS Feed