What did you think of Joey ?

fhs man 2fhs man 2 Posts: 7,591
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I mean the friends spin off that ran for 2 years between 2004 and 2006 until it got cancelled.

I thought as a spin off it was rubbish but as a standalone show I thought it was brilliant and I miss it. What did you think of it ?
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  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    i liked it, but then it was never really going to satisfy anyone after the juggernaut that was "Friends". I would imagine that it probably lost a good chunk of it's initial audience when people realised that none of the "Friends" were ever going to appear.

    I think if the network had held it's nerve a little longer, they could have had something as it was starting to get quite good towards the end of the second season.
  • fhs man 2fhs man 2 Posts: 7,591
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    i liked it, but then it was never really going to satisfy anyone after the juggernaut that was "Friends". I would imagine that it probably lost a good chunk of it's initial audience when people realised that none of the "Friends" were ever going to appear.

    I think if the network had held it's nerve a little longer, they could have had something as it was starting to get quite good towards the end of the second season.

    It was the build up from Friends which ended it if it was a fresh idea then it could of lasted longer.
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    fhs man 2 wrote: »
    It was the build up from Friends which ended it ..

    That's what I said, but then I suppose they couldn't win either way. They tried to stand on their own and people complained about the lack of "Friends", and if they'd had any of the Friends cast appear, people would have complained that they didn't let the show stand on it's own.
  • jesse_pinkmanjesse_pinkman Posts: 500
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    I was never a fan, but I like Drea de Matteo and she's been in 2 of my favourite shows, Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy.

    Loved Friends though...
  • CharnhamCharnham Posts: 61,148
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    the best thing about Joey is that it allowed Episodes to happen

    Without the failure of Joey, Matt Le Blanc would not have been a good fit for Episodes.
  • Steve9214Steve9214 Posts: 8,402
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    The problem was they just pretty much created a new character and called it "Joey Tribbiani".

    They gave him a proper long-term girlfriend, and made him a father figure to his nephew.

    With Frasier, the character had developed over time in Cheers, then they added Niles who was written the same way as the early Frasier in Cheers, as a reminder to the audience.

    If they had maybe written the nephew to be an early Joey-copy then the change in Joey would have made sense, but they made the nephew a nerd which didn't work.

    Frasier had his radio station workplace as another location, but Joey did not have this.
    If they had given him a job on, say, a shopping channel they could have worked in some slapstick with the products, and given Joey some regular work colleagues to interact with.

    Joey in Friends was a stupid womaniser who relied on his friends to cope with routine things like money etc. However he was good at his job (acting on camera) and landed some plum roles (Days of our lives) even with his awful agent.

    Those things were missing from the spinoff
    It was like they took a whole new sitcom and just called the main character "Joey"
  • rhynoGBrhynoGB Posts: 4,278
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    i thought it deserved at least 3 seasons to bed itself in,when the ratings started to go down they should have gotten chandler or ross to appear,would have given it little more time to develop if it got another season.
    i liked it,i have watched series 1 on dvd a few times (don't have season 2 amazon only do the import version at £27.99..)

    shame it got cancelled so early it could have been good
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    Steve9214 wrote: »
    The problem was they just pretty much created a new character and called it "Joey Tribbiani"

    That line alone sums up, for me, why it ultimately didn't succeed. I remember reading a review somewhere that said he'd lost his "innocence" which was very true.
  • flagpoleflagpole Posts: 44,641
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    i thought it was alright. had they made ore i would have watched more.

    as a sequel to friends it was in an impossible position.
  • Jennifer JayneJennifer Jayne Posts: 9,022
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    It wasn't too bad, it seemed like it had been made for the lower iq of our worlds population but I supose that is because Joey was down there too, at least in the latter seasons of Friends anyway.

    It was one of those shows you could just sit down and watch whilst your brain is getting a bath.
  • Mr.LavigneMr.Lavigne Posts: 922
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    It was OK, but it was unrealistic in that he hardly ever mentioned or went to see any of the other Friends. They were all such a big part of his life for ten years, and in hindsight they probably shouldn't have bothered.
  • fhs man 2fhs man 2 Posts: 7,591
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    rhynoGB wrote: »
    i thought it deserved at least 3 seasons to bed itself in,when the ratings started to go down they should have gotten chandler or ross to appear,would have given it little more time to develop if it got another season.
    i liked it,i have watched series 1 on dvd a few times (don't have season 2 amazon only do the import version at £27.99..)

    shame it got cancelled so early it could have been good

    They could of done that easy as David Schwimmer directed an episode or 2.
  • rivercity_rulesrivercity_rules Posts: 24,270
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    It could have worked, I enjoyed the support cast, but Joey wasn't Joey. It was Matt Le Blanc playing a different character basically.
  • VolVol Posts: 2,393
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    I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as people made it out to be.

    In fact I own the first season on DVD and still watch it every now and then.
  • Big Boy BarryBig Boy Barry Posts: 35,290
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    It doesn't work without the other five Friends.
  • LeeleeSTARLeeleeSTAR Posts: 590
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    I actually didn't mind it. Whilst it wasn't as good as friends it was better than a lot of the other sitcoms around at the time. I think it was getting better and finding its feet as well prior to being cancelled.

    I also agree with others that a few cameos would have been good from Ross, chandler etc.. Maybe even Gunther just turning up behind the bar in an episode.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,679
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    Poor spin-off.
  • EESuperFanEESuperFan Posts: 2,820
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    I actually enjoyed it. i have the first season on DVD.
    in saying that i didn't watch season 2, but the first season was good.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 971
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    it was ok. given up on waiting for season 2 to get a uk dvd release
  • E05297535E05297535 Posts: 5,602
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    Didn't even bother with the spin off as Joey without Chandler wasn't going to do it for me.......didn't really get off the ground in the UK tbh! As for friends, they can't stop repeating the series' now...which I'm so glad about as the episodes never ever bore me!!!:D;)
  • haphashhaphash Posts: 21,448
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    I thought it was a missed opportunity and poorly put together which was a shame. The fault of the writers (not the cast).
  • gcmacgcmac Posts: 4,020
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    I quite liked it to begin with but air got a bit boring. Think it ran out of steam.
  • pete137pete137 Posts: 18,342
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    haphash wrote: »
    I thought it was a missed opportunity and poorly put together which was a shame. The fault of the writers (not the cast).

    I agree. This 'could' have worked. Those saying it was an impossible job doomed to fail need only look at Frasier to see how you create a spin off which not only works but actially was better (in my opinion) then the original. The scriptwriters were to blame here. As others have said the character in Joey just wasnt the "Friends" Joey. It was ludicrous.

    Frasier worked because of the quality of the scriptwriting, the quality of the supporting cast and the quality of the transition from one show to the other was seemless.
  • CharnhamCharnham Posts: 61,148
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    all this Cheers and Fraiser talk, makes me want to remind you guys of The Tortellis
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 67,320
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    I thought it was great i preferred it much more to friends! The characters all worked with each other really well and it had for me some amazing LMAO moments!
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