1. Friends
Must Watch to Make Out- Seasons 1-3Must Watch to Get Laid Seasons 4-7Must Watch to Get Married All of them Friends is (was? dont know, Im married now) the Go-To topic of dating. Its a must for any single guy who has trouble finding common ground to talk about on that all important first date. While your date may have trouble understanding what the big deal is about the current Premier League rankings, whip out a Ross/Rachel reference and you are guaranteed something approaching interest for the next 30 minutes as you listen to your date discuss who was best for Rachel and why. It helps to know the basics of the show and the first 3 seasons do that. Friends set the bar for 90s group ensemble television and many sitcoms today still try to find the right formula of casting, storylines and humor. While some have accomplished success with little tweaks to the formula (BBCs Coupling, How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings, are all great friends-type sitcoms) there are dozens of failed pilots and 1 season shows that line the bottom of IMDBs best sitcom lists to prove it takes a bit more than 6 well-groomed characters thrown together in an apartment in New York to make a sitcom, especially if they are lacking in cultural diversity. Friends is a white show for white people about white people in one of the worlds largest multi-cultural cities but dont mention that if you just want to get laid. The big question was would Ross the Nerd ever get with Rachel the Jennifer Aniston? The question was Yes. Then No. Asking your date their opinion if Ross's excuse of 'they were on a break' was fair you might have an idea how the night will end up, or at least get you through the first 30 minutes. BUT... That question was resolved by season 3. The trick in attempting to keep your date interested in you is to get a bit deeper into the show, where it was really hitting its zenith with guest stars, with Magnum PI (Tom Selleck) as Monecas reoccurring boyfriend Richard and guest stars as diverse as Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts to Isabella Rossalini and Gary Oldman. The second phase of the show peaked with Moneca and Chandlers marriage and that is as much as any one man should need to know to impress the girl he is dating to get a bit more freaky with it. However, if you really love that girl that has the whole 10 seasons of Friends on dvd, its best you hunker down for some afternoons of 'Friends Ketchup'. The bevy of guest stars helps Friends remain interesting to a point and while some characters surprise in comedy development over the seasons (Ross in particular), others become caricatures of themselves (Joey/Moneca). The story lines became quite forced (mention the problems of a Joey/Rachel relationship the girl may drop in awe of your Friends knowledge) as there was little for them to do but move on. Agree? Disagree? Stop watching earlier or later? Let us know in the comments below.