<P> As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time . It is now often ranked among the all - time best TV shows . Critics commended the series as having consistently sharp writing and chemistry between the main actors . Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a "so - so Seinfeld wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode, and felt like writing an apology to the writers . Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season . Havrilesky found the character - specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative ." Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback ." Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high - decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans ." However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory . Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing (was) still sharp ." Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be ." Friends was featured on Time's list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All - Time", saying, "the well - hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family ." </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> "It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped . Ultimately, the two - hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do . It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped . Ultimately, the two - hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do . It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale . </Td> </Tr>

How many episodes of friends was bruce willis in