Who’s excited for the Friends: The Reunion tomorrow? I am!
Can you blame me? I’m a big fan of the show. Friends is the only American series I actually followed and loved. I was 18 when it started and already nearing my thirties when it ended so you can definitely say that it played a major part in my coming of age.
To put it simply, Friends will always be the best show for me.
While Friends started in 1994, I got hooked on it just right by the end of the 4th season after seeing “The One with Ross's Wedding”. I can still recall how I screamed at that scene when Ross said, “Take thee, Rachel” during his wedding vows.
I always thought that the script for this phenomenal show was cleverly written and way ahead of its time when it comes to depicting some of the issues (I remember the local channel had to cut the kiss between Jennifer Aniston and Winona Ryder). It never fails to give me a good laugh even if the situations are getting messy and complicated. I guess it’s because the characters have qualities that are unique and endearing to them and someone like me who was a young adult at the time can totally relate to.
We are lucky now that we can binge-watch it on Netflix but can you imagine how it was for us back then waiting for the next week just to watch another 30-minute episode? Think about the excitement and anticipation. Note that this was before social media so TV rules.
I would rent VHS (and later on VCDs) to be able to watch the previous seasons. My late boyfriend Alex had many episodes stored on his computer, and we’ll spend lazy afternoons watching it together on his 15" CRT monitor. My own office computer on the other hand had the cast’s picture as my wallpaper. I even sneaked printing pages and pages of Friends transcript using our company’s dot-matrix printer and continuous papers (remember those?) — A thing that could get me fired if caught.
Until now, I always feel emotional every time I watch the two-part finale, aptly titled “The Last One”. I really feel I was part of the show’s journey in some way that the end hit me hard. It saddens me to watch Joey and Chandler saying goodbye to their foosball table to save the chick and the duckling trapped in it. I wept the first time I watched that scene when the six of them leave their own keys to Monica’s apartment on the counter and the camera pans slowly to the apartment and ends in that purple front door.
The charm of the show never faltered even with the passing of time. I can still watch Friends over and over again. When I’m having a bad day, watching the show is actually one way for me to relax and feel good. Talk about escapism when the reality is getting too much for me.
And because of Netflix, my 9-year old nephew became a big fan too—even if he doesn’t understand some of the punchlines (“Tita Vayie ano `yung condoms?”). He even made a Tiktok fan page for the show. My other nephew, only six, can sing the theme complete with the clapping.
I have read so many articles about how Friends “didn’t age well” with all the sexism, homophobia, fat-shaming, objectification of women, etc. While true, some people should really chill. It was made from the POV and tone at the time. Sure, much of its humor won’t pass today, but why would you watch the show wearing 2020 glasses? If we will be as critical, we’d find something off even in something as seemingly harmless as “I Love Lucy”.
This is the very reason I never want a reboot of the show. 10 seasons and 236 episodes are enough to last me a lifetime. While bittersweet, I like how Friends ended—naturally and at its prime. I love all of the characters in varying degrees (with Chandler as my favorite), but who would like to watch them in their 50s? There’s nothing funny with a 50-something Joey still going, “How ya doin’?” (actually that will be so creepy). Frankly, that will only be depressing even for us who have since aged too.
A reunion will be just perfect. A sit-down interview with the cast and other recurring characters would be one helluva nostalgia I would prefer.
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