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Television: The "Friends" Finale
Wednesday, 2004 May 12 - 2:04 pm
Like 50 million other people, I watched the "Friends" finale with anticipation and a twinge of sadness. The good news and the bad news is this: Friends ended as it has always been, and just as we expected it to.

Prior to the finale, several stations aired the very first episode of "Friends". Watching that first episode, I was struck by how well-developed the characters were, even then, and how tightly scripted the show was. It wasn't brilliant, but it was solid from the start. Few shows can say that much.

The show remained solid and constant. We didn't see weird character twists like having Chandler become a professional assassin. We didn't see gimmicky self-parodying episodes. Sure, we had the inevitable relationships and weddings and babies, but the show always remained true to its vision: a group of friends, relying on each other like family, and no hurts that couldn't be healed.

The final episode didn't stray from the formula. Of course we knew that Ross and Rachel would end up together. Of course Monica and Chandler would end up with their dreamt-of happy family. Of course Joey and Phoebe would be just fine in the end. So was the ending dramatic? Not really. But then again, it wouldn't have been "Friends" if the show had ended with something weird, like Joey becoming President, or Monica winning "The Apprentice", or the entire city being wiped out by global warming.

So the show ended as it should have; gently, reliably, happily. The show will live on timelessly in syndication. We may never think of it as the greatest comedy series of all time, but we will always remember it.
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Posted by Ken in: reviewstelevision

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