"The last time there WASN'T a 50-50 split in the Senate, Friends was still on the air."
Well, since technically Friends is still on the air now, in the form of reruns, your statement could in some very twisted sort of way be considered accurate. HOWEVER, your memory of facts is faulty. Trump had a majority in the senate when he was elected, and I'm pretty sure Friends had already gone into reruns then.
So in the thesis reality, what year, specifically, was the last time the senate wasn't a 50-50 split?