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deird_lj(Because I've watched both shows far too much...)
Unrequited Love
In Friends episode 1, Ross and Rachel encountered each other, and it was firmly established that Ross had a crush on Rachel.
In Frasier episode 3, Niles and Daphne encountered each other, and it was firmly established that Niles had a crush on Daphne.
Rachel didn't have a clue. Neither did Daphne.
Ross couldn't get up the nerve to mention his crush. Neither could Niles.
And then...
The woman found out that the man was interested.
In Friends, this happened in season 1, episode 24. In Frasier, it was in season 7, episode 10.
Then the woman started being interested in the man, and he was clueless.
...until he finally found out.
In Friends - season 2, episode 7.
In Frasier - season 7, episode 24.
That's a grand total of 31 Friends episodes. And 166 episodes of Frasier. For essentially the same plotline.
Friends, having taken care of that, promptly had Ross and Rachel
1) start a relationship
2) break up
3) get together again
4) break up again
5) stop a wedding halfway through when they realised they were still in love with each other (kind of)
6) go out with other people
7) get drunkenly married in Vegas
8) get divorced
...and so on.
Meanwhile, Niles and Daphne were getting married, and happily bickering about married-couple-ish stuff.
The thing is, the writers on Friends were so eager to get to the first payoff that they rushed through the whole thing. And then needed bigger and bigger payoffs.
Frasier did things at a much better speed.
Babies
Rachel had a baby. And so did Roz.
...and then Rachel's baby kind of disappeared.
She wasn't around, she wasn't really mentioned, and Rachel's life kept going on as per normal. And the writers, when questioned, basically said "Well, the show is about the 6 main characters. Not the 6 main characters and the baby."
Which annoys me. Because the baby is supposed to be part of Rachel's life.
Frasier, on the other hand...
Roz had a baby.
And then she was exhausted.
And she was stuck on decaf coffee because she was breastfeeding.
She had arranged for a babysitter.
She moved to a bigger apartment.
She mentioned going to kids' birthday parties.
And to playdates.
And reading children's stories.
And waking up in the middle of the night because her daughter kept crying.
And dressing her up in cute outfits for holidays.
And on, and on...
On Friends, the baby was basically a gimmick (yet another part of the "How can we make Ross and Rachel's story EVEN MORE EXCITING?" dilemma).
On Frasier, it was part of the ongoing story.
In conclusion? Frasier is way better. *nods*
Unrequited Love
In Friends episode 1, Ross and Rachel encountered each other, and it was firmly established that Ross had a crush on Rachel.
In Frasier episode 3, Niles and Daphne encountered each other, and it was firmly established that Niles had a crush on Daphne.
Rachel didn't have a clue. Neither did Daphne.
Ross couldn't get up the nerve to mention his crush. Neither could Niles.
And then...
The woman found out that the man was interested.
In Friends, this happened in season 1, episode 24. In Frasier, it was in season 7, episode 10.
Then the woman started being interested in the man, and he was clueless.
...until he finally found out.
In Friends - season 2, episode 7.
In Frasier - season 7, episode 24.
That's a grand total of 31 Friends episodes. And 166 episodes of Frasier. For essentially the same plotline.
Friends, having taken care of that, promptly had Ross and Rachel
1) start a relationship
2) break up
3) get together again
4) break up again
5) stop a wedding halfway through when they realised they were still in love with each other (kind of)
6) go out with other people
7) get drunkenly married in Vegas
8) get divorced
...and so on.
Meanwhile, Niles and Daphne were getting married, and happily bickering about married-couple-ish stuff.
The thing is, the writers on Friends were so eager to get to the first payoff that they rushed through the whole thing. And then needed bigger and bigger payoffs.
Frasier did things at a much better speed.
Babies
Rachel had a baby. And so did Roz.
...and then Rachel's baby kind of disappeared.
She wasn't around, she wasn't really mentioned, and Rachel's life kept going on as per normal. And the writers, when questioned, basically said "Well, the show is about the 6 main characters. Not the 6 main characters and the baby."
Which annoys me. Because the baby is supposed to be part of Rachel's life.
Frasier, on the other hand...
Roz had a baby.
And then she was exhausted.
And she was stuck on decaf coffee because she was breastfeeding.
She had arranged for a babysitter.
She moved to a bigger apartment.
She mentioned going to kids' birthday parties.
And to playdates.
And reading children's stories.
And waking up in the middle of the night because her daughter kept crying.
And dressing her up in cute outfits for holidays.
And on, and on...
On Friends, the baby was basically a gimmick (yet another part of the "How can we make Ross and Rachel's story EVEN MORE EXCITING?" dilemma).
On Frasier, it was part of the ongoing story.
In conclusion? Frasier is way better. *nods*
