A close analysis of an extract from television text drawn from the sitcom genre: Friends, The One With All The Cheesecakes, Series 7 Episode 11.

The American television sitcom "Friends" is by genre an ensemble sitcom it follows the everyday lives of six twenty something's living in New York, who are all friends. Although by definition a sitcom the show has established soap elements such as an ongoing storyline and example in this episode is phoebe's ex-boyfriend David from the first series reappearing there is a bleeding over of storylines from series to series. This is known as open text …

…had been able to break the barriers of its genre by crossing over to the soap genre. Friends is watched by all ages, has open text storylines and has interepisodic participation, being a popular topic for the press and public being a part of everyday conversation. The episode analysed is an example of the formula used for the show and genre alike. Filmography Friends series 7 episodes 9-12, (2000),Directed by Gary Halvorson, 85mins , Warner Bros television