The finale is actually light on laughs...
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Much in the same way that the characters grew during their ten-year run on TV, I kinda grew up with "Friends". The show began airing in 1993, just as I started high school. As I watched the series finale in May 2004, I found it difficult to believe that I'm already in grad school, saying a fond farewell to a show that I once hated.
Yes, I once hated "Friends". I hated the silly song that plays during the opening credits sequence, and I hated the hype that NBC mounted in order to promote the show. I hated Marcel the Monkey, and I hated the guest stars, who made the show seem like a collection of stunt castings. However, while watching the show in syndication re-runs, I gradually warmed-up to the six New-York-City buddies who experienced so many things (including each other!) together. The friends seem to care genuinely for each other, and the laughs often come hard and fast.
In order to celebrate an important show in TV history, in order to let fans own a piece of closure before the release of Season 10 on DVD, and in order to cash in on "Friends"-mania, Warner Bros. has released "Friends: The Series Finale" as a stand-alone episode. I'm basically going to spoil the episode for you since the finale is basically a summation of the characters' lives anyway. Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) get back together. Monica (Courtney Cox-Arquette) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) move out of their apartment for digs suitable for raising a family (they adopted baby twins). Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) is now happily married, and Joey is still pursuing acting gigs. Little does he know that he's about to move to Los Angeles and get his own show, "Joey". :-)
The finale is actually light on laughs since the characters are dealing with separating after ten years of living together. In fact, the characters spend a lot of time crying, what with Rachel getting ready to go to Paris for work and with Monica and Chandler clearing out their apartment. Heck, Monica even demolishes the foosball table that Joey and Chandler love so much.
Many "Friends" episodes appear in their "uncut", extended versions on DVD. The "Friends: The Series Finale" disc offers both the broadcast version and an extended version of the episode. It is possible that only this disc will let viewers choose which version to watch (since the box sets offer only one version of each episode). At any rate, the extended version offers a couple of seconds of expository moments (such as characters wandering through hospital hallways) but no substantive laughs or tears. I would say that the broadcast (shorter) version is better than the extended version, but it's nice to have both on the DVD.
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