The year 2004 was when we completely gave up and embraced stupidity as a value.

Source: How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization — Medium

Sure, it’s funny in a sardonic sort of way. But we just re-watched Friends and aside from the agonizingly horrible rampant homophobia that the show espoused, the worst part of the show was the constant belittling of intellectualism and geekery. I identify with Ross more than the other characters because he’s smart, romantic, quirky, and people don’t get him. For the writers it was a cheap source of humor. It wasn’t the high-quality, good-natured type of character-driven humor that made up so many of the show’s other punchlines; it was the cheap, make-fun-of-the-nerd humor that debases everyone in the process.

That was the last time that I will watch Friends. There were a lot of good jokes, but the show ended on a sour note with lazy writing and many mean spirited jabs at a character who was frequently – in name only – a friend.