An estimated 50 million people bid goodbye to their Friends last night as viewers watched the six fictional thirtysomethings close a definitive chapter in their lives. The much-hyped series finale entitled “The Last One” ran for an hour, with an hour clip-show preceding it. Friends, which ran on NBC for ten years, followed the lives of six young urban professionals as they reached major life milestones such as engagement, marriage and birth.
When the show premiered in September 1994, viewers were introduced to Rachel Green, Monica and Ross Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani. From the very first episode, it was clear that it was love-at-first-sight for Ross and Rachel. Now ten years later, Ross and Rachel are finally together indefinitely with their baby, Emma. However, this is not the only pairing among the Friends. Chandler, Ross’s college roommate, married Ross’s sister Monica. Last night, the Bings became parents of twins, Erica and Jack.
While many critics have said that the show lost its steam long ago, the final episode was still very emotional for many. To view the finale, many students gathered to watch — with their best friends, of course.
“I thought it was a very appropriate ending, and I got through it with the help of my best friends,” said Jen Murabito ’06.
Reactions to the final episode, however, were mixed from even the show’s biggest fans.
“As a friends fan since the beginning, I was actually a bit disappointed with the finale. I would have like to see the six interact more instead of clips showing only two people at once,” said Laura Schechner ’06. “There is no way I would have rather watched it than with my best friends, but it was disappointing overall,” she added.
Still, the light-hearted comedy managed to elicit tears from its longtime viewers.
“It was a great ending to a great show,” said Alissa Boshnack ’06. “We laughed, we cried — some more than the rest — and we said goodbye.”
Archived article by Erica Temel
Sun News Editor