Summary
- In the
Friends
spin off,
Thursday
Joey is portrayed as a lonely man in his spin-off, which has lost its original charm. - Joey Tribiani goes through too much hardship for a sitcom, which makes fans feel sorry for him.
- This spin-off doesn't seem like it
Friends
nor does it capture the essence of Joey, disappointing fans.
Friends is undoubtedly one of America's most popular shows, garnering tons of critical acclaim and a slew of prestigious awards. Fans quickly fell in love with this offbeat group of friends and loved watching them grow and mature in the vibrant city of New York. When the show ended in 2004, many fans weren't sure if anything could top this show, and frankly, very few sitcoms have lived up to the stature of Friends.
Due to the success of this show, it is no surprise that many writers and producers were eager to maintain its profitable nature. As such, ThursdayA Friends spin-off, which hit screens in September 2004. However, fans were not very impressed with Tribbiani's personality and the series managed to survive only for two seasons. What happened to this lesser-known spin-off and why weren't fans that interested?
Joey is portrayed as a lonely man in his spin-off
- Acclaimed actress Jane Lynch initially auditioned for the role of Phoebe before Lisa Kudrow secured the part.
- One of the working titles of the show was Insomnia Café.
- Kudrow didn't approve of Phoebe playing guitar because she wanted her to play bongos.
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When Friends aired its final episode in May 2004, it looked like the team had no intention of slowing down anytime soon, as the first episode of Thursday debuted in September 2004. The premise of the spin-off is pretty simple and follows Joey Tribbiani after he moves to Los Angeles. Although he dreamed of becoming a successful actor on the West Coast, he had to move in with his sister Gina and twenty-year-old nephew Michael. The show focuses on Joey's struggles as a failed actor and the ups and downs of his love life.
Despite the fairly simple story, fans felt like the Joey they once knew and loved had been washed away and replaced with a shell of his old self. In New York, Joey seemed like a typical man about town and never had a hard time finding a nice girl to hold on to. However, in the spin-off, Joey seems very lonely and down on his luck. For example, in Season 1, Episode 3, “Joey in the Party,” Joey teams up with his nephew to help him throw a party so he can try to make new friends in this busy city. Admittedly, this is a very relatable situation and helps make Joey feel less like a side character and more three-dimensional. However, it must be said that the fact that Joey is now forced to hang out with his nephew in order to make friends is pretty sad. In FriendsJoey was surrounded by people who loved him, and in the spinoff, he only had a handful of people he could count on. Overall, Joey's lack of friends is incredibly depressing and forces the audience to recognize that the rest of his friends are moving on with their lives, and he seems to be stuck in a rut.
Even in the pilot episode, Tribbiani comes across as very detached and isolated. This episode works to set up the relationship between the titular character and Michael, which is ultimately quite sweet. But, much like his relationship with Gina, their dynamic is written more as a friendship than a family. So even in the early stages of this sitcom, Joey comes across as desperate and trying to mimic the relationship he has with Chandler with a man 16 years his junior. Again, this episode is a great example of how Thursday makes the main character seem very lonely, which only underlines the jovial nature of FriendsTherefore, it is clear from the outset that the spin-off will never be able to compete with the original material.
Tribbiani suffers too many difficulties for a sitcom
- The iconic orange couch at Central Perk was actually found in the basement of Warner Bros. Studios.
- The large white dog in Joey and Chandler's apartment was actually owned by Jennifer Aniston and was given to her as a good luck gift on the first day of filming. Friends.
- In seasons 3, 4, and 5, Ross states that he is 29 years old, indicating that he has not aged for three years in a row.
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Every sitcom fan will know that tragedy plus time equals comedy. A few setbacks can take most sitcoms to the next level, as these setbacks often make the characters more realistic and endearing. But one could argue that Thursday took this formula a little too far and left the main character drowning in his own struggles. In Season 2, Episode 17, “Joey and the Big Move,” the main character finally secures his dream home. Yet, unfortunately, it burns to the ground, forcing him right back to where he started. While this isn't a traumatic event for Joey at all and effectively showcases his dull reaction to everything, many viewers can't help but feel a lot of pity for him. Moments like this underscore the fact that Joey just can't seem to catch a break, but many fans have a hard time understanding why he continues to endure these endless hardships. In turn, these tragic moments don’t do enough to make audiences laugh, and many fans struggle to understand why Joey doesn’t just go back to New York and start over. So Joey’s constant battles don’t really strengthen his character and only make fans long for the way things were before.
Season 2, Episode 3, “Joey and the Spanking,” works to give Joey a few more comedic fights, but it's still not enough to get fans interested in the new take on their favorite. Friends character. Here, Joey is faced with an unruly child on set and decides to take matters into his own hands and give him a spanking as a form of punishment. Many modern viewers may find this a bit controversial, but fans have to recognize that things were different in the early 2000s. Aside from the controversy surrounding Joey's actions, the fact that he was bullied by a small child is a bit embarrassing. Plus, it's a trope that's been voiced far too many times. Even in FriendsJoey fights to get his record back from a kid after he punches Ross in the face. It looks like Joey is going through a lot of unnecessary hardship, all of which makes fans long for a simpler time when he lived in New York with his best friends.
This spin-off doesn't feel like Friends, but it certainly doesn't feel like Joey either.
- After the show ended, all the cast members took home a piece of fake sidewalk from outside Central Perk.
- By season 10, each cast member was earning $1 million per episode, making it one of the few shows to close the gender pay gap.
- David Schwimmer directed 10 episodes of Friends.
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While the show received generally positive reviews and ratings, Thursday was canceled on May 15, 2006. Admittedly, it wasn't a shock to fans, but executive producer Kevin S. Bright blamed NBC for changing the main character of Joey too much. Regardless of the reason why this show was canceled, it just goes to show that Friends It was a one-of-a-kind sitcom and will never be repeated. The main criticism of Thursday was that the titular character was too shy and a deconstructed version of his old self. Thus, Tribbiani transformed from a greedy womanizer always looking for a new audition into a pathetic and shy man who had no choice but to move in with his older sister.
Another big problem with Thursday was that it did not contain sufficient references to Friends. Although David Schwimmer directed a couple of episodes, none of the main cast visited Joey in Los Angeles or even bothered to call him. Therefore, one gets the terrible impression that his friends have long forgotten about him and are eager to start a new life without him. Even actors who played roles in the original series have changed their characters for Thursday. For example, Adam Goldberg, who played Eddie in the original series, went on to play Jimmy Costa in the spin-off. This made the cameos feel really disjointed and continued to underscore the idea that Joey was completely alone in Hollywood. In turn, it seems really odd that the producers chose Joey as the inspiration for a spin-off rather than more established characters like Ross and Rachel. Therefore, Thursday It seems like a last ditch attempt to make some money from Friends and leaves Tribbiani in a state of deep depression that many fans couldn't even bear to see.