News Radio > Friends.

For all the un-PC shit Friends trotted out, its contemporary News Radio wasn't all that bad. Joe Rogan aside, (I like his character on News Radio so I limit my appreciation to purely that while I pretend he's not a meathead antivaxxer), I haven't really seen much that would be indefensible.

Lisa and Dave flying straight into a secret relationship instead of boring us with an interminable "will they/won't they" is more fun while we wait for the secret to be exposed, and Beth's inclusion on it is more fun. The "Spanish Fly" incident is a funny twist on workplace harassment probably wouldn't work in this current environment but I wouldn't say it's egregious. Dave looking better in Lisa's dress is a reference to Foley being considered relatively hot as a woman according to his Kids in the Hall cast, and it's true. I'm still laughing at the same shit that made me laugh 20 years ago. It's more a fine wine than a mouldy cheese that claims it's delicious when it's not. Friends had its moments but I can't see myself laughing at every scene in ever episode, aside from the early Chandler and Monica stuff, and some of Phoebe's antics, it would annoy me more to sit through the shrillness and whining. Joe and Matthew might've been relatively immature but they're not annoying, this was a clever as fuck show, and it wasn't entirely dependent on Phil Hartman carrying it, he was absolute gold, and yeah it can be reasonably argued his absence affected the rest of the show in a negative way, but the entire cast was solid and fun, Stephen Root is irreplaceable as Jimmy James, I can't mentally find a better actor for any of the roles, especially Beth. They were lovable, (yes, even Joe. Again, I choose to remember him as we knew him and not how we know him now). I don't know how else you could've pulled this entire thing off with anyone else. It's a smarter show than Friends or Suddenly Susan, or even Seinfeld. It's an unappreciated gem that deserves more credit and still holds up. Yeah, there's chauvinist bollocks in it on a 90s level, it's not stupendously sexist, at least there was equality in terms of who'd dish it out and none of the men are above justifiable criticism, the bullshit war between the sexes that was prevalent back then was at least a level playing field on this show.