Another Must-See-TV post: Rachel on Friends

[sntm]

Is it just me or is she the WORST MOTHER EVER? I don't know why I still watch the show anyway. DH comments on how the baby is always absent with no explanation. Or napping -- does she drug this kid? I used to think Miranda on SATC was the anti-June Cleever (I mean, how can she complain how she never sees the kid when she is always at brunch or shopping or going out to clubs, etc.) but Rachel is practically CPS material.

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[Calmegja2]

C'mon Shannon. Didn't you see she had the monitor for the baby in hand for almost the entire episode last night? And the baby was apparently in the locked apartment across the hall from where they were? ;-)

Yeah. I don't quite get it, either, but as much as I loved Rachel and Ross, that show jumped the shark a loooonnnnngggggg time ago. The baby thing just doesn't work.

[KimberleyDawn]

I haven't seen Friends very much since Emma was born and I'm curious as to what the scoop is....what stupid things is she doing?
Kim

[suribear]

I bet the writers are childless!

But isn't that true for most sitcoms? (unless they feature kids)

Has anyone seen the twins on Everybody Loves Raymond?

Given how our house is ruled by the kids, I always find it amusing that their kids are never around :)

Kris

[wdland45]

Agreed, Rachel's parenting skills leave a lot to be desired, but what really bothered me is that all of a sudden Monica and Chandler are getting a baby so quickly (and through a domestic adoption no less!) Now, I am admitting here that I don't know much about adoption, but it is my understanding that it is quite a long process (please correct me if I am wrong). I mean, heck, they just met with a person from the adoption agency on last weeks episode. I don't like that they are painting this picture that in a matter of weeks you too can adopt a baby. I think it is insulting to those who are actually working through the process of adopting a child from anywhere.

Danielle

DISCLAIMER: If I am wrong about this or if I sound harsh in some way, please do not flame me. I am really not trying to offend anyone, I just wanted to participate in the discussion. All the best.

[deborah_r]

I know it's "just entertainment" but I think this is a problem and may be something (IMO) that leads to disappointment and shock and depression after your baby is born, because they never portray these things realistically. I literally thought at bedtime you plopped the baby in the crib, hugged your spouse while looking down at your sweet cooing, sleepy infant, turned out the lights and went off to snuggle on the couch or go to bed. I thought I would still be able to go places with relative ease. I thought....many things, that just aren't true. And I read stuff while I was pregnant, but those images on TV and in movies somehow just overshadowed what i was reading and I thought that MY baby wouldn't be a PROBLEM baby like the babies these books were obviously written about!

Don't mean to get off on a rant here...

[lisams]

What I thought was amazing was that little "Emma" was sitting so calmly in the stroller with a HAT on during the seen in the hallway. My DD gets fussy in the stroller if we're not moving, and there is no way she would keep a hat on for more than 3 seconds. It just amazes me that she really isn't acting, that's just how she is.
It must take some very easy-going babies to be on the set. My DD would fail the first 10 minutes ;)

Lisa

[cchavez]

You post had laughing so hard.....I never imagined things would be as hard as they are and that is b/c the only previous knowledge I had about babies was from TV/movies.

[JustMare]

I have to agree about Rachel, the baby is barely seen or heard.

Don't even get me started on Monica and Chandler's baby issues. Do you recall the episode when they met with a fertility doctor and he said they can't have children together? She could use donor sperm or he can use a surrogate but they can't conceive together. She just couldn't carry HIS child. Maybe out there this is true in medical terminology, but the way they explained it on the show made no sense to me whatsoever! Why couldn't they give them a REAL fertility problem that people can relate to??

I've come to realize that with all these sitcoms, children are like furniture - in the background.

[deborah_r]

I went to see a taping of According to Jim, and I had never watched it before. Well, they filmed some of the children's scenes ahead of time, because they can only work certain hours and also to try to get it right without the live audience there, I guess. So they would show us those on the screen while they prepped for the next scene.

But I didn't even realize they had a baby besides the two girls until well into it, because there just seemed to be no baby stress in the house. They were talking to eachother and the girls came in and said their cute little lines and extended family members dropped by and...where the heck was the baby??? I think there was a scene of them fighting with a stroller that made me realize there was a baby.

[khakismom]

You mean there's another child besides the 2 girls? I admit I don't really watch it very often, but I had no idea. It's never mentioned!

[jennifer13]

Well as my father once told me, the stories on tv/movies are a lot about sex and a little about raising children, and life is the other way around. :)


Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03