Final 'Friends' end of era

Show's characters mirrored lives of many

By Joshua Levs
CNN

(CNN) -- I remember the day I found out Ross and Rachel were going to kiss. It was two days before the episode, and I was at lunch with some friends. The word was: Don't miss this week's show.

I know how strange that may sound. It certainly wasn't one of the more significant events of the past 10 years, and it was, you know, fictional. But every decade has its defining pop culture moments, and for millions of us who were 20-somethings in the 1990s, that was one.

From the moment "Friends" first appeared on our screens in 1994, it stood out. The six characters were friends of mine from college, friends from high school, peers from just being a middle-class, white American entering the post-college world.

It was a rare Hollywood product that seemed close to home, with its finger on the pulse of -- at least a slice of -- our culture.

I always felt "Friends" respected me -- and my intelligence. Mostly because the show never seemed to be trying to make the audience laugh. It was more like the characters were laughing with us -- and, better yet, they usually weren't laughing at all.

"Friends" helped restore the "situation" in "situation comedy," because the humor rarely came from jokes -- and almost always came from situations that the characters themselves didn't realize were funny.

To me, that's always been one of the greatest strengths of the show's writing, and has put so many other comedies to shame.

Sitcom drama

And the kiss. Yes, as TV critics have frequently pointed out, "Friends" has its soap opera elements, with intertwining love stories and lengthy character arcs. But that stuff has never -- well, barely ever -- felt forced.

The truth is, "Friends" has given us some of the purest TV drama of the past decade. Ross and Rachel coming together spoke to that part of all of us that roots for "true love" to succeed, and their breakup was the most realistic I'd ever seen. Phoebe's tearing up after saying goodbye to the triplets she carried to term was heart wrenching. The scene in which Joey opened his heart to Rachel, and she carefully rejected him, brought some of the best sitcom acting in recent memory.

Still, "Friends' " serious side was never there to manipulate us into watching. It was there because that stuff is part of growing up. These six characters have grown with me, picking up life lessons along the way.

Through all of it, the show has made us laugh. These writers, who should have even more Emmys than they do, can make anything hilarious.

When Rachel had two birthday parties across the hall from each other, my wife and I nearly fell off the sofa laughing. When Chandler and Phoebe competed to get each other to admit knowing that the other knew that the other knew about a secret relationship (no kidding), a bunch of us talked about it at work all the next day. When they all gave up each other's secrets at Thanksgiving, leading to Phoebe's own admission "I love Jacques Cousteau!" I watched it three times. That night.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer make lines jump off the page. If there had been a weak link in the cast, the show would never have been No. 1, and never lasted this long.

There's also no question that their public solidarity -- sticking together in contract negotiations, saying only good things about each other -- deserves much of the credit for the show's longevity.

No regrets

It's always struck me that most successful sitcoms say great things about America. So many top network dramas feel maddeningly contrived, but top sitcoms have generally been smart and savvy. They're joint, national experiences that help create a sense of community in our atomized lives, and bring laughter at the end of the day. The good shows deserve our time.

After 10 years, according to my math, I've spent more than 85 hours of my life watching "Friends." (And that's before you factor in the endlessly syndicated repeats.) And I don't regret a second.

Whenever newspapers and magazines have written about the "Friends" phenomenon, they've inevitably followed up with some perplexing letters to the editor. People write in decrying the "untalented cast" or calling the show a "waste of time." I've never gotten the backlash. If you don't like the show, don't watch it.

Of course, some of the complaints do touch on truths. Yes, "Friends" isn't actual reality, has taken pains to avoid anything remotely controversial -- no real talk about politics or religion -- and has had a notable paucity of racial diversity. It's not a complete picture of anything in the real world, and it's not supposed to be.

But it has successfully captured a slice of life. And if, decades from now, people look back on this show -- among other things, of course -- to get some insight into the pop culture zeitgeist of 1994-2004, that's fine by me.

So now I say goodbye to the program that's achieved so much. It's sad, but not because I'll miss the show. It really is time for it to end. It's sad because the end of "Friends" means, in this one little way, the end of an era. Basically, it's a reminder that my friends and I are growing up. We're not 20-somethings in coffee shops anymore.

I'll give the spinoff, "Joey," a shot, but with few expectations. The ride is over.

As long as it ends well -- which I say had better include Ross and Rachel finally achieving lasting couplehood -- I'll be satisfied. And to everybody who helped put it together -- all those names that scroll by during the tag -- I say thanks. As Chandler would put it, could I be any more grateful?

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and another one....
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The 'Friends' close the door



By Meriah Doty and Stephanie Snipes
CNN

(CNN) -- Central Perk will be perky no more after Thursday night.

And, counter to the "I'll Be There for You" theme song, your "Friends" won't be there for you anymore (except in DVDs and reruns).

Thursday's 8:59 p.m. ET finale episode on NBC (preceded, naturally, by a retrospective at 8 p.m.) is America's last chance to bid farewell to Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Ross (David Schwimmer).

The show that brought you Phoebe's lovable, yet atrocious, acoustic rendition of "Smelly Cat," Ross' many physical comedy bits (skintight leather pants and a maxed-out artificial tan are two that come to mind) and Joey's oh-so-beckoning "How you doin'?" will fade into the ether after 10 years on the air.

Plot strands may be tied up -- or maybe not. Joey is definitely going to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career -- he has to or there won't be a spin-off, "Joey," which is already on NBC's fall schedule.

Phoebe is married and happy. Monica and Chandler may leave Manhattan. And as for Ross and Rachel ... well, nobody's known what to make of them since the show began September 22, 1994.

He's had a crush on her; she's returned his affection; they've gotten together and broken up and had a child, and they still don't know what to do with each other.

It's possible that on the finale Rachel will move to Paris with the child she had with Ross. On the other hand, "Sex and the City" didn't leave its protagonist in Paris. Will this New York-centric show?

You never know.

A big success

The one thing you can bank on is that the show will get exceedingly high ratings. Maybe not as high as the "M*A*S*H" conclusion in 1983 -- that was done in a very different three-network universe -- and maybe not as high as 1998's "Seinfeld" finale, since "Seinfeld" didn't have to face off against "CSI." But it's sure to be big.

It's also going to make a fortune. NBC has been selling ads at the rumored rate of $2 million for a 30-second spot, which is Super Bowl-type money.

Over its 10-year run, "Friends" has been a popular and critical hit. The show has gained 55 Emmy nominations and has ranked in the top 10 of every season it's been on the air.

To executive producer and creator David Crane, it's all a big surprise.

"There's an emotional component to the show that we can never lose sight of because I think the shows you get tired of the fastest are the ones where you don't really invest on some level," he said in a recent interview with CNN.

However, he told The Associated Press, it's been tough at times. "Friends" is the rare ensemble show with six equal characters. Finding something for each of them to do has been occasionally wearying, Crane told the AP.

"There's a lot of interweaving, a lot of juggling," he said. "One character is the go-to person in another character's story. Then, next time, you have to shift it around."

Coming together

But it's all worked out, especially for the "Friends" themselves.

The six actors actually became friends in real life, something that helped them when contract time rolled around. The most recent negotiations set each cast member's pay at a cool $1 million an episode.

"They realized there was strength in unity," said Ray Richmond, The Hollywood Reporter's television columnist. "That has stood them well."

The show also tapped into the zeitgeist, becoming a favorite of 20-somethings just as "Generation X" was becoming a buzzword. Almost immediately, Aniston's hairstyle became a trend -- the "Rachel," hair stylists called it -- and the show has never lacked for fans.

Whether it's the emotional component, a litany of lowbrow jokes, the attractive cast (Jennifer Aniston made People's 50 Most Beautiful People issue this year, again) or a mixture of all of the above, the "Friends" finale has invited great anticipation. And NBC has kicked it up a notch, calling it "the greatest comedy ever" and counting down each last show as if reporting on a moon landing.

It's not what Crane would have predicted.

"When we put them [Monica and Chandler] in bed together initially, I don't think we realized that this would be the loves of their lives. We went into it going 'Well, we'll see how many weeks this works,' " said Crane.

"I'd like to hope that years from now people can look at the reruns ... and say 'That is still a really funny show' or 'It's still really sweet.' And if that happens ... I'll be thrilled," said Crane.