Friends Audience Analysis Data

Episode: "The One With the Rumor..."

Age groups surveyed:
- Under 18
- 18 – 30
- 30 +

Demographic information:

Under 18 age group
- 4 people surveyed (3 female, 1 male)
- the females are regular viewers, the male is an occasional viewer (knows the characters and some storylines, but does not keep up on the storylines)

18 – 30 age group
- 4 people surveyed (3 females, 1 male)
- 2 females are regular viewers, 1 female is an occasional viewer (but made a point to watch the episode in question specifically for Brad Pitt), the male hardly watches but managed to see “some” of the episode

30+ age group
- 3 people surveyed (all female)
- all viewers are occasional viewers who watch the show when time permits
- 1 watched specifically because Brad Pitt was on
- 2 taped the show to watch at a more convenient time

Reasons for watching Friends:

Under 18 age group
1. quirky situations make it funny:
- Joey having to eat the turkey by himself
- Chandler and Phoebe pretending to watch football to avoid doing
work
- Ross and Will’s childhood relationship
- Will and Rachel rivalry
- expressions and dialogue: - Chandler and Joey’s intonation of certain words
- Phoebe’s reaction to Will

2. characters and setting:
- in general, girls like watching the female characters for their style and fashion sense
- the life they lead seems to be the ‘ideal’ lifestyle for young people (trendy New York apartment, close knit group of friends, interesting careers, etc.)
- believed to be what ‘real life’ should be like
- to see Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt working together – what would their characters be like? How would they act together on screen given their personal relationship

3. viewing habits:
- 8pm on Thursday - Prime Time viewing
- ‘nothing else to watch’
- the Survivor vs. Friends battle on US network television allows for Friends to precede Survivor on the Global network – get to watch both…don’t have to choose between the two.
- the hype – for this episode especially, which was during November sweeps and promoted as featuring a “secret guest star,” who was later leaked as Brad Pitt

18 – 30 age group
1. escapism:
-the setting, characters, situations, etc. are too perfect and contrived, but provide a reflection of real life. In other words, it’s not the “real world” that is being represented, but a desired image of the “real world.”
- of the genre – being a sitcom, there are no expectations other than it being funny

2. comparison of lifestyles:
-the 18-30 age group consisted of college/ university students and graduates with either full or part time jobs, who are still in the transitioning period of their lives. Watching characters who are of similar ages provided a sense of hope. For example, Rachel went from being a waitress to a fashion consultant for Ralph Lauren. Monica and Will (in this episode) went from being overweight high school losers to slim, gorgeous, successful people. Although quite unrealistic, the subjects thought that situations like these provided a glimmer of hope...almost as if to say, hey, that could happen.

3. viewing habits:
- when time permits, 2 female subjects watch the show regularly and make it a point to record the show if they are unavailable to watch it. the male subject doesn't watch the show on a regular basis but managed to see some of the episode because it was on in his home, although he "wasn't really paying attention" to it when it was on.
- both females actually watched and recorded the show specifically because Brad Pitt was going to be on it.
- since time is valuable at this age, making it a point to watch this show is a conscious decision.

30+ age group
1. pass time:
- all three women watch occasionally when time permits.
- their decision to watch is dependent upon their free time

2. relive their youth:
- since the characters do crazy things and are still relatively young, the subjects felt that they could relive part of their younger days through the crazy antics that occur on the show.
- all 3 women are married with children (whose ages range from elementary school aged to university aged), so they get to see how it is to be young, single and free again.
- it makes them feel smart - since the characters get themselves into stupid situations, the subjects are able to look back at their own youth and compare the two.

3. viewing habits:
- one watched the show while it was on; the other two taped it and watched it later.
- one who taped it, did so while flipping between Survivor and Friends.

Gender

Males
- only 2 males were surveyed.
- both were not regular viewers.
- only one (aged 17) was familiar with the characters and the storyline
- the other (aged 21)was barely familiar with details - the details he was familiar with was a result of hearing things from family, friends, etc. who watch. - aged 21
- both preferred the Simpson and Wrestling to Friends
- both say they'd prefer to do something else than watch Friends (i.e. surf the internet, go out, etc.)
- when they do watch, it's only because there isn't anything else to do

Females
- of the 9 females surveyed, 5 (2 under 18, 2 18-30 and 1 30+) admitted that Friends was one of their favourite television shows.
- reasons for watching vary
- they paid attention to detail and to look for ideas - i.e. fashion ideas, home decorating ideas, hairstyles, etc.
- like the relationships between the women and men - there is some sexual tension, but it is not always serious and is sometimes downplayed and made fun of (not as complicated as real life relationships can be)
- watch the episode in questions specifically because of Brad Pitt's guest appearance, and to see him interact with his wife onscreen


Melissa Lim

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