Smelly Cat

"Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?"


Does anyone remember a simplistic song that began with "smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you?"


Recently two stars of the hit tv show Friends reunited. Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow were on stage at the "Rock A Little, Feed A Lot" Benefit Concert at Club Nokia on Tuesday night in LA when fans cheered to have one of their favorite characters Phoebe Buffay play the song that her fans loved to hear. Although it wasn't being played at Central Perk, the friends favorite coffee house, it was unplanned at the event. But, what made fans love the song "Smelly Cat?" What made people love the show Friends and feel like they were one of them?


Recently in my media class we watch a short film shown on TLC called "The Life of a Sitcom." Later that day I went home and couldn't stop talking about the production and behind the scenes secret information. Then on TBS Friends was on syndication, two back to back episodes. When the show began I was only 6 years old and was more interested in Full House, Family Matters and who can forget Power Rangers but now I can watch it whenever I want. It is so funny! Why?
There are some things about the show which was different to others at the time. It was about 20 something year olds, living in NYC while beginning their lives as adults played by unknown actors.


The women...

Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) was the fun loving friend on Monica Geller's from high school. She was a buyer for stores and fell in love with Monica's brother Ross throughout all the shows seasons.
Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette) was the friend with the most common sense. She wanted to protect everyone but had a competitiveness in her. The friends made fun of her weight in high school and never let her live it down. Eventually she falls for Chandler and has a child with him.

Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) is a free flowing, musician, hippy, masseuse who is somewhat ditzy with the most eccentric ideas of the bunch.


The men…

Ross (David Schwimmer) was the “nerd” paleontologist. At one point he is married to a woman who divorces him because she is gay.

Chandler (Matthew Perry) is the sarcastic one.

Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is an actor on Days of Our Lives and loves to eat.

Although my descriptions might not be the best, they just hint at what the show is like. To give a better idea these are some clips


Each episode which was about 22 minutes had the perfect beginning, characters which everyone could relate to and comedy that is roll on the floor laughing kind.

Recently I watched Community in NBC the same station that produced Friends and it was completely different in maybe not a good way. Shows as Friends, Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond were shot in front of a live audience with several different cameras. Shooting in front of a live audience allows the viewer to hear the joke while the multiple cameras give it a casual feeling versus on the Community it looks like a movie. I believe that shows like Friends need to come back on the air with stand out comedy.