The show’s most important feature is that it portrays the characters as human—especially Jesus.

“The Reunion’’ shows “Friends” for the fantasy that it always was, while at the same time showing what sustained and continues to sustain that fantasy: the shared affection, admiration and respect of six very talented actors.

James Martin S.J.'s 1994 review of ‘Friends,’ published when it first aired.

The series executes a breathtaking high-wire act, threading speculative fiction a history most of us still do not know well enough.

“People’s lives are complicated every place you look, and just as complicated as your own life is,” says author and director James Fallows.

The show attempts to juggle a number of different issues and themes, but chief among them is a commitment to being a meditation on modern racial animus in the United States, and it does not shy away from controversial topics and ideas.