Tearful fans wave goodbye regretfully, detractors snarl "good riddance" - Friends gets the big bon voyage tonight:
- THE LAST ONE - Series Finale
8:59pm 2004-05-06 ALL NEW!
"FRIENDS" SERIES FINALE - AFTER TEN YEARS THE FRIENDS PREPARE TO SAY GOODBYE — Filled with humor and bittersweet emotion, the series finale of "Friends" finds Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross embarking on the next chapters in their lives. The six of them have been there for each other through all the ups and downs of becoming adults. Now it's their last day together, and it's one of momentous events and last-minute surprises. Even as the friends make major decisions on their futures, there is a bond between them that will last forever - no matter where their paths lead. TV-14
The Friends site has an entire section devoted to the finale, including a "party guide," a timeline of the show, video clips of the cast discussing favorite moments, stuff like this:
and various other nonsense and electronic knickknacks.
Advertisers are paying Super Bowl rates for the show - maybe Janet Jackson will appear halfway through:
- Advertisers are paying up to $2 million for 30 seconds on the "Friends" finale this week, making it the Super Bowl of sitcoms.
That puts Thursday's one-hour finale, which NBC has estimated will draw an audience of at least 50 million people, second in price only to the Super Bowl this year. CBS took in $2.3 million for a half-minute of ad time on the Super Bowl.
The Academy Awards took in $1.5 million per 30-second ad spot on ABC.
"This is one of those rare media events," said Charlie Rutman, president of Carat USA, a major buyer of advertising time for large companies. "It's a program that has captured a generation and a lifestyle for 10 years. It's become more than just a television program."
Some of the companies advertising in Thursday's finale, like Hewlett-Packard and Gatorade, are debuting new commercials on Thursday, just like companies do for the Super Bowl.
Hewlett-Packard's ad will show how the company's technology helped create the animation for the upcoming "Shrek 2" movie, said Scott Berg, director of worldwide media for the company.
Debuting a new ad "makes it that much more special and it sets you apart from those on the stage who might just be running more typical ads," he said.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Davis
The finale was, well, amiable. I thank the actors for serving as the nation's best TV friends and for reminding many of us of what it was like to be young and filled with possibilities.
2 - Bob A. Booey
I'm a genius and I'm borrowing your blog to take it over for a second cuz it's a lil boring...
I don't think the finale was surprising to anyone at all: Friends has consistently aimed for the middle of the road and the finale was no different. I thought for just a second that they might have some balls and let Ross and Rachel's neediness go unanswered, but not in Sitcom Land. After all, "he's her lobster." I'm only thankful that line from hell didn't find its way back in like the chick and the duck and the dog statue.
Here's what I'll take away from it:
*It's good that Matthew Perry finally lost enough weight to where he actually finally resembles himself again by the finale. Too bad it took him about 3 seasons of looking disturbing to get to that point ... and no, the bad red-faced tan did not help. I think the last 3 seasons of Friends could be described as "The Ones Where They All Get Bad, Fake Tans and Gain Weight in Hollywood."
*The final phone call gimmick with Rachel didn't quite work as well as they wanted it to, I think. Sure, it was a sweet enough moment but none of the dialogue reached the level of past cheesy moments on the show. The plane thing worked once before -- I'm glad they put a twist on it, but it wasn't a particularly inventive storyline. I think it's from some movie I'm forgetting ... the answering machine bit.
*The last shot of the door was a bit uninspired. I forget which sitcom did a similar exit (Cheers with the empty bar?).
*The episode wasn't all that funny. It had a couple of good lines, but no big laughs or memorable dialogue.
*Jennifer Aniston is finally starting to hit the wall. The show ended at the right time because she was not looking as hot as she once did in that last episode. Phoebe hit the wall a long time ago, but that's alright since Lisa Kudrow is the brightest, and oldest, member of the cast (yet consistently asked to do the least in her acting). Courteney's finally starting to look pregnant, but she's always held up for an older woman.
*The commercials for "Joey" look terrible. I don't know how much of the writing team carried over, but give me a break ... boob jokes? I don't think this will be another Frasier, since that show completely changed the tone of Cheers and made unique characters that avoided cliches as much as possible. Joey's roommates with a genius rocket scientist nephew (can a show Jump the Shark with its plot conventions before it even airs?), which is a DOA idea. I think it's good for at least 2 seasons because of LeBlanc and the Friends habit (which will give it solid ratings for its first season if the show isn't a complete turd), but NBC might have to think long and hard about what kind of show they want. Otherwise, we're looking at another George Patterson, Watching Ellie, whatever-that-one-with-Kramer-was fiasco. Not quite that bad since it IS a spinoff and Joey was one of the more likable characters, but you get the idea. "How YOU doin" situational gags with LA starlets can only last you so long. My bet's on Schwimmer or Kudrow for the first cameo in May sweeps, probably Schwimmer. "Ross is in town for a paleontology conference at UCLA and meets Joey's genius scientist brother (think of those jokes) yet somehow leaves Rachel at home despite their relationship bliss."
*It's a good thing Schwimmer's a smart guy who loves theatre, because as bright as he is, he's horribly typecast beyond repair and doesn't have the range as an actor to get Ross out of people's heads. I'm sure he's more than set for life with the Friends paychecks -- I hope he'll work on getting challenging material out there since he seems to have interest in more than just the broadest, mass-appeal stuff.
*Lisa Kudrow, since her character was so limited, might also seem typecast, but I think she's smart enough and has more range than we think that would allow her to emerge from the Phoebe role and do different, interesting things. She's a lil too old to make it big in film, but I agree that she could do some very interesting work.
*Perry might be the most talented actor of the bunch (that's not saying much), but I'm really not sure what role he could play successfully in movies.
*I agree that Aniston will have the best career on the big screen, by virtue of her age, looks, and being Mrs. Brad Pitt (however long that lasts).
*LeBlanc is the most practical, being the first to jump on the spinoff bandwagon. He learned his lesson from the few movie projects he's tried -- anyone remember the baseball monkey picture? He realizes he's not a real good actor and that Joey is a once-in-a-lifetime cash cow for him. At the start of the show, it seemed like he (along with Aniston) would have the most breakout potential since he WAS good-looking and a fresh face. No longer.
That's about all I can think of now since I've already forgotten most of the episode. It was alright as an ending (certainly not as bizarre and disappointing as Seinfeld), but nothing really memorable that reminds you why you loved the show.