Ross, Rachel Together as Sitcom ‘Friends’ Ends
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Friends,” the smash hit U.S. sitcom about six winsome young pals who became like family to each other and millions of TV viewers, ended its 10-year NBC run on Thursday with an emotional farewell that finally left Ross in Rachel’s arms for good.
The highly promoted hour-long finale, preceded by a 60-minute “Friends” retrospective, capped weeks of media hype surrounding what became the most anticipated U.S. television event since “Seinfeld” left the General Electric Co.-owned network in 1998.
At the show’s end, Rachel, played by Jennifer Aniston, decides at the 11th hour to stay in New York with Ross (David Schwimmer’s character), rather than fly to Paris, binding the star-crossed lovers together at last as the curtain came down on American television’s top-rated comedy.
Her change of heart comes after a comically frantic race to the airport, where Ross desperately begs her to stay, only for Rachel to rebuff him and board the plane. An anguished Ross goes home to find a confessional message on his answering machine from Rachel, who unexpectedly appears in his doorway to announce, “I got off the plane.” The two kiss, embrace and pledge never to leave each other again.
The off-and-on romance between Rachel and Ross had remained one of the show’s underpinnings since the start and rivaled some of the most storied love affairs in prime-time history, ranking with Sam and Diane from “Cheers” and George Clooney and Julianna Margulies on “ER.”
Tying up another loose thread, the surrogate mother for the show’s other central couple, Monica and Chandler (who wed at the start of season eight) surprised the expectant adopting parents by giving birth to twins — a boy and a girl.
The finale concludes with moving men clearing out Monica’s apartment as she and Chandler get ready to head for their new house in the suburbs. The six friends share another round of hugs, then each solemnly leaves his or her key on the kitchen counter, departing together for one last cup of coffee.
The final original episode, expected to draw some 40 million to 50 million viewers, commanded sold-out, Super Bowl-sized advertising rates averaging $2 million for each 30-second commercial, the most ever for a sitcom.
Debuting in 1994 as a breezy comedy about attractive 20-somethings living together in Manhattan, unfettered by mortgages or kids, the show quickly caught on.
While critics lauded the series for its consistently sharp writing, a key ingredient was the chemistry among the six principals, who became nearly as close off screen as on and bargained together for higher salaries as the series grew in popularity and commercial value.
“We were like six pieces of a puzzle that just fit together,” Schwimmer said in an interview broadcast this week as part of a two-hour special edition of NBC’s “Dateline Tuesday.”
The coffee-gulping brood consisted of resident den mother Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette), wise-cracking husband Chandler (Matthew Perry), Monica’s geeky kid brother Ross (Schwimmer), pampered former rich girl Rachel (Aniston), ditsy latter-day hippie chick Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and dopey but lovable actor Joey (Matt LeBlanc).
LeBlanc will be back in the fall as the star of his own NBC spinoff, “Joey.”
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